Konoha's Silver Shinobi
by Konerok Hadorak
Summary: Ichimaru Gin isn't known for his sympathy, nor for his empathy. But when he finds a bloodied boy along the side of the road, he can't help but stop to help. But that one act of compassion will change the Shinobi world forever. Follow them both as he guides Naruto on his way to greatness! Naruto/Hinata, Gin/Ran.
1. Chapter 1: Kindred

**A/N: Well here's another sotry I made in my free time. I've had this idea in my mind for quite a while now, but I've yet to see a story on FF that sates this appetite. That being, Gin being a father figure to Naruto. Dunno why, but I always wondered what would happen if Gin was there to protect our blonde hero and to raise him in his own ways. Anyway, hope you like it. R&R.**

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**Silver Shinobi, Chapter 1:  
Kindred.**

Naruto ran for his life, and this time it really seemed like it was his life that was on the line. Normally kids would chase him, or random drunken citizens. This time though, he had far more on his plate as a duo of shinobi led the chase to catch him. He was panting heavily, the sweat dripping from his face in huge globs. Every now and then a tear would fall from his eyes. He was so confused. What had he ever done? Every day the people of the village would abuse him one way or another, either mentally, or sometimes physically for stealing food and cloths. But could they really blame him? He had no money, and he barely had enough to eat most days. Several times he'd gone a week without food. He was six, and by now he'd just accepted this was the way things were.

He was so desperate to get away he didn't notice the rock in his path and he ran full on into it. He instantly reached up to clutch his head and nose which when he pulled his hands back noticed it was now bleeding. It stung horribly and his head was no pounding, but the rushed footsteps behind him urged him to move on. He was absolutely terrified by ninja. Villagers he could handle; they didn't hit so hard. But shinobi he knew from stories that they would kill without mercy. As a child, he shouldn't have been able to understand the concept of killing, but he did, and he was afraid of it. Of death.

His only hope now was to get back to the village. The gates were already in sight, but he wasn't on the main road. After being chased off from the market place, he decided to go out to the forest to gather foods he thought he could eat. Sometimes he would eat poisoned fruit but even though his stomach would hurt badly, it always subsided an hour or so later. Sometimes he didn't have a choice but to eat something he knew was poisoned just to survive.

But while he was looking for something edible, the two ninja had shown up. They hadn't said a word the entire time they'd been chasing him. The only reason Naruto knew they were out to get him was when one lazily threw a knife right by his face, cutting his ear to scare him. Naruto knew he needed to run and did so. Naruto knew little of the ninja system, but he knew they were divided by ranks. He hoped the ones chasing him were lower level shinobi; he might be able to outrun them.

He looked back again to see two shadowy figures leaping after him. He was in the tall grass right now, and it was over his head in height. He wanted to sit down and hide, but that wouldn't work against a ninja. To him, ninja were liked gods, capable of doing anything, finding anyone, and destroying everything. The Hokage had always been nice to him, and told him that he would have ninja guarding him every day. Where they were now he didn't know, unless, dare he entertain the idea that the ninja behind him were _his_ guards.

He was getting closer to the gates now, and hope glimmered in his tear-stained eyes. He was sobbing as he ran, the emotions of fear and incomprehension overloading his six year old mind. But just as he was about to dash into the clearing, he heard a light whistling sound and a sharp pain emitted from his calf. He fell to the ground with a cry. Skidding to a halt, his hands instinctively reached down to his wounded leg. He wasn't looking at it as his eyes were shut in pain, but he could feel the problem. There was a knife imbedded deeply into it, and trying to pull it out only hurt even more.

The soft sound of grass rustling behind him made his wails cease in terror. Hesitantly, he dared to look behind him. He regretted it immediately. They stood there, arms crossed, walking casually up to his bloody form. One stopped at his feet while the other circled around to his head. Naruto didn't dare move. Like a wounded animal, he stayed absolutely still, tears still running freely down his face. The one in front of him leaned down on his haunches, and pulled out another knife. He held it up in front of him as if examining it, Naruto's eyes also looking at it, but for him it was in fear. The man grinned looking at it, and then his gaze fell on Naruto.

Immediately Naruto tried to scurry away on his hands and knee, but a quick stomp down from the other man behind him on his other legs halted his escape. The snapping of bone could be heard for several dozen feet. Naruto cried out in pain, not like he had with the knife in his leg. This was a completely different type of pain altogether.

"It's too bad you're just a kid. If you were a little older, you might have been able to get away." The one with the knife said as he brought the blade to Naruto's throat.

"W-w-w-hy a-are y-you d-d-doing t-this to m-me…?" He stuttered out through pain and tears. The man offered no answer but grabbed the blonde's hair and lifted it up, exposing his neck. He brought the knife to the skin and pressed the sharp edge against it. He grinned and began to drag the knife slowly across the boys' neck when his partner, the one whose foot was currently crushing Naruto's now broken leg, called out softly.

"Wait."

The man with the knife stopped just short of cutting the boys' jugular, but not before he had already started to slice over to it. "What is it?" He asked.

His partner looked over to him. "Can't you feel it? Something powerful is coming!"

The knife wielder instantly looked alert and wary, glancing around at his surroundings. He quickly dropped the boy's head and used the hand that had held it to smother the boys' cries. "How powerful?"

The other closed his eyes and brought his hands together in the ram seal. After a few tense seconds he opened his eyes again. "I can't gauge it accurately, but its stronger than both of us!"

"Damn it. Guess we'll have to hurry this up." He raised his hand up and was ready to simply hack his way through the blonde's neck when his partner grabbed his wrist and stopped him.

"No! If it's someone from the village and they find him dead and link him to us, we'll be killed ourselves! At least if he's still alive we won't be killed." The other wasn't happy about this but grunted in frustration and got up, kicking Naruto's body one last time for good measure before they both dashed away.

The forest was quiet now, except for the sobs that came out forcefully from the small boy. But even though battered, bloody, and bruised, he knew he needed to get into sight of some public place. The main road to the village was nearby, and he could try to crawl, but with a knife in one leg and a broken other, it would take quite a while before he got there. It was an agonizing fifteen minutes of dragging himself through the forest, over roots and dried leaves, leaving a trail of blood and dirt. When at last he could see the road, his spirit went into a frenzied fervor to get to safety. With one last shove of strength, he dragged himself onto the road. He could see the village gates in the distance from here, but he decided he was in far too much pain to try and make it. He would wait a while and see if anyone came by. His neck was bleeding, his leg was bleeding, his nose was bleeding, his left leg was broken he was sure, his right's muscle was probably shredded, and his meager little arms were weak with exhaustion.

He simply lay there, crying in abrupt sobs. He was scared and hurt, and no one was around to care for him. He was sure this was _not_ the way other six year olds were treated. But what had he done? All he wanted was to have a normal life and be friendly. He had never done anything to make people angry, as least as far as he knew. He didn't know why everyone hated him. Presently, soft footsteps could be heard coming from behind him. Even though he was six, he was smart enough to know people not from the village would be nice to him, for some reason. So the fact that someone was coming from the opposite direction _toward_ the village meant they were visitors. But he didn't dare think they were ninja or he'd probably go into a fit of hysterics.

The footsteps grew louder and louder until the ceased to exist. He hesitantly raised his head to look at the stranger in front of him. "Hey now, that ain't right." The voice was smooth and flowing, and carried and air of humor to it. Naruto's tear filled eyes tried to focus on the man's face, but all he got was a blurry fuzz. All he could see was a basic outline of the man's body and basic colors. He wore all white, from what Naruto could see, and he had fair, un-tanned skin. But the one thing that stood out to Naruto from the man's attire was his silver hair.

The man stooped down to examine the pathetic heap, turning the boy over until he was laying on his back. Naruto hissed as the knife in his leg was pushed further in, and he did his best to position it so the knife wouldn't be affected. The man seemed surprised by Naruto's condition and muttered something under his breath. The man seemed to have taken pity to him, which for Naruto was a good thing. The man reached down and gently brushed a finger or two over his face, wiping away some of the tear stains.

Naruto heard some shuffling and the cried out in pain as the knife was removed from his leg. "They sure did a number on ya. Whoever y'are." Naruto thrashed in pain and tried to get away from the man, but his flailing hands were caught in the man's own. "Don't worry, I ain't here ta hurt ya. That's the worst it's gonna hurt, 'K?"

His accent was strange; Naruto had never heard of it before. But regardless, it held a soothing tone to it, and Naruto willed his body to relax, which it did slowly. The man grasped naruto's sliced up leg and held a hand above the wound. Instantly Naruto felt relief wash through him. What he didn't know was that the wound was slowly closing and repairing itself. _'This kid's got a neat little body there. The wound shouldn't be closing that fast even with me fixing it,'_ the man thought with surprise. But t didn't show on his face. Naruto's head was resting on the dirt path, and he didn't seem to mind the rough ground. The calm sensation in his leg vanished but he felt no pain after word. He opened his eyes to see the man's hand now resting above his neck.

"Hold still now." Naruto did so and the relaxing feeling returned. Soon it disappeared too, and again he couldn't feel anything from his neck. No pain at all. The man went down to his other leg and examined it. Broken, as he had guessed.

"So what's your name kid?" The man asked lightly. Even though naruto had been through such a major incident, he seemed at peace with this man. He didn't know why. He reached up to wipe away the water from his eyes. "…U-uzumaki Naruto…"

He looked at the man for the first time with fresh eyes. Now that he could see clearly, he found the man wore a sort of formal white outfit that Naruto had never seen before. The man's face formed in a permanent grin, his eyes closed in the smile. His hair was silver still, but it actually held a sort of purple tint to it.

"Naruto huh? That's neat little name ya got there. Mine's Gin…" The man held a hand out to the blonde. "…Ichimaru Gin."

Naruto looked up at the man, not quite surprised his name was "silver." He accepted his hand, with some hesitance, and the man swung the surprised boy up onto his back. "So, mind tellin' me why yer so beat up?"

Naruto didn't answer at first. Instead he merely sunk his head down as if trying to escape attention. "…I-I… I don't know why."

Gin for his part took the answer without batting an eye. "So where ya live then?"

"…I don't know." Naruto said again solemnly. The man's face changed, instead of a smile, it changed into a surprised frown, but his eyes remained closed. "Don't ya have family or somthin'?"

Naruto shook his head. Gin turned back to the road that Naruto now realized was leading back to the village. Instantly the boys' blood went cold and he began to shiver. "D-don't…"

Gin looked behind his shoulder in confusion. "What'd ya say?"

"D-don't… p-please don't take me back there!" Naruto whispered while holding on tightly to the stranger.

"Don'tcha wanna go back?" Gin asked.

"No!" Naruto answered a bit more forcefully than he intended. Gin looked at the boy surprised. "Well I can't fix that leg by myself. Yer gonna need a hospital fer sure."

Naruto looked all the more terrified and he clung to the man with all his might. "NO! I Don't wanna go back there! Never again!"

"O-o-ok then. You don't have to go back." He said quite surprised at the boys' reaction. "Sheesh, didn't think kids were _that_ afraid of hospitals…" he commented to himself. _'But I really can't fix that leg. Maybe I can just leave him with someone.'_

"Tell ya what… We go to the hospital and I stick around until ya get out."

Naruto looked skeptical and was tempted to outright deny him as quickly as he had before. But something about the man's face, despite its cunning look, seemed to make it hard to say no.

"…P-promise?" Naruto asked quietly, his eyes shining with hope.

"Promise." Gin raised his left hand behind his shoulder and extended his pinky. Naruto looked at it in surprise. He knew that linking pinkies and shaking was like making and ultra-super-cool promise that you can't break, but he'd only ever seen other kids do it. He'd never done it himself. Shakily extending his own hand he reached out with his pinky finger and linked it with the man's own slender one.

"_Yubikirigenman. Usotsuitara, harisenbonnomasu. Yubikitta,*__"_ Gin sang out in a melodious voice. Slipping his finger out from Naruto's, he picked up Naruto's broken leg again by the thigh and he continued onward. "If I break my promise I have ta drink a thousan' needles. Now I can't break it, can I?"

Naruto seemed to settle at this. Even though the shirt below him was stained with a little blood from his nose, he found the man's shoulder extremely comfortable. Closing his eyes, he relaxed into Gin's body. Unbeknownst to him, Gin's smile had faded into a scowl and his cyan eyes blazing.

When they reached the gate the two guards nearby rose from their seats in surprise, but didn't stop him. His features had returned to their normal state by then, and he wasn't surprised to see the strange glances from the guards. But as he traveled further into town, he received more and more glances, and to his surprise, glares from the villagers. They all seemed to look at him in disgust, but when his squinting eyes turned their way, they averted their own.

'_That aint weird at all is it?'_ He thought sarcastically. He stepped to the side where a random woman was sitting on her porch.

"'Scuse me, miss?" There was no way she couldn't have heard him since she'd been staring at him for a while. When he saw he had her attention, he continued. "Mind pointin' me in the right direction?"

The woman looked from his smiling face to the boy on his back. Her eyes narrowed. "What are you looking for?"

"Hospital." He said, his expression unchanged.

Her frown turned into a scowl when she realized he was taking the boy to the hospital, for whatever reason she didn't care. "For that thing?" She asked pointing at his burden.

"Mind rewordin' that question?"

"Not realy."

"Ya sure?"

"Positive."

They both found themselves in a stare down with each other. The woman's scorn-filled eyes looked on disdainfully at both him and the blonde. But as she looked at the sliver haired man, his squinting eyes, even though closed, seemed to pierce her resolve.

Turning her gaze from him she spoke. "Just keep heading that way," she said pointing down the road he'd been on.

"Thanks," he said after a dangerous pause. And he continued on. Sure enough, a great many glares later, he came to the hospital. Walking in, he addressed the secretary thus.

"Sorry ta bug ya, but this kid's got a broken leg I can't fix. Mind findin' someone to help out?"

The secretary looked up at him and smiled, but when she spotted the boy on his back, she scowled, something Gin found this village far to willing to dish out at the child. "I'll see if we have a room available."

"Doesn't look like yer very busy," he commented, looking at the open magazine on the desk.

"Looks can be deceiving," she retorted with a fake smile.

His grin grew for some reason and the clerk was obviously disturbed by it. "I wonder 'bout that…" and he approached the desk even closer. The secretary was surprised when he reached out with a lanky hand and brushed his fingers over her cheek, that insane grin still on his face.

"I really hope yer lying…" he began. "Cuz if you are, then I'll be able to remove another pesterin' person from this world, got me?"

The threat did not go unnoticed and the woman shivered in fear and bead of sweat dripped down her cheek. "I-I'll find something for him," she stammered out before using the intercom to call a doctor. One came by soon enough; he was dressed in full white including a strange hat that covered his entire head. He looked at Gin and Naruto and walked up briskly. "I'm Kizuki Guun, follow me please."

As the man turned away Gin threw a victorious glance at the woman at the desk that he was sure she didn't miss and followed after the doctor. They went up the stair until they were on the third of four floors. Not too far down the hallway, he stopped and gestured to a room. Gin stepped in and looked around. It was sparse but not overly so. It had its tones of brown and beige, brown from the wooden furniture and beige from the walls and floor. The hospital bed was stark white, but it did match the room.

"Bring him over here please." Gin did as he was told and laid Naruto on the bed, making sure to keep his broken leg from sitting wrong.

"Please describe the injuries," the doctor asked briskly.

"Broken left leg."

The doctor looked at it and nodded. "Alright." He went over to an intercom and pressed a button calling for two nurses to assist him. They came in presently, one woman and one man, and he explained the situation. The newcomers frowned, but Gin couldn't tell if it was at the boy or at the wound. He guessed the former.

The nurse and second doctor worked on setting the leg while the doctor worked on healing it. Gin may not have been a doctor, but he knew when they were doing a good job, and they were only doing a decent one. Naruto yelped suddenly in pain and the male nurse held him down and let the second one handle setting the bone. Naruto suddenly began thrashing when he saw the doctors around him, having fallen asleep on Gin's shoulder. Even though he was held down, his eyes bounced in his head, looking around the room until they landed on Gin over to the side. He instantly began to calm down and relax despite the pain in his leg.

For Naruto, he didn't know why, but even though he'd never been able to trust any adult or age-mate before, he felt as if this Gin would be someone he could believe in. It was almost as if there was an invisible connection between them. _'We've only just met, but…'_ He couldn't explain the feeling of similarity he had. But the man had kept his promise, and that was more than anyone else had done. There was a twinge of pain, but he didn't feel it.

The procedure lasted for about half an hour and when they were done, Naruto was as good as new aside for the splint on his leg he would have to wear for a few weeks, or so the doctor said. The nurses cleared out as soon as he was done and seemed all too eager to do so.

The doctor however stuck around the make sure everything was all right. "Well, you should be fine. Just lay off of it for a few weeks and it'll be good as new."

Naruto nodded numbly.

The doctor took one last look at the various instruments in the room, then turned to walk out. As he passed Gin, who was leaned up against the door frame with his hands in his pockets, the silver haired man stopped him.

"Mind havin' a little chat with me?" He asked without looking at the man, but seemed to be looking at the orange clad boy on the bed. The doctor looked at the man and nodded. They both stepped ut of the room and shut the door.

"That kid… What's his deal?" Gin asked.

The doctor looked at him surprised. "You must be a foreigner. A noble probably?" He asked, judging from his all white robes.

Gin made no indication as to who he was. "Maybe. But answer the question."

The doctor looked at him hard and sighed, getting nowhere form scrutinizing the man. "I can't tell you. It's a law that cannot be broken, and if I do tell you… Well, let's just say it's not something worth dying for."

Gin raised an eyebrow but said nothing. The doctor bowed. "If that's all, then the both of you can leave any time you wish."

Gin looked back at the slumbering blonde. There were few times he let his mind wander, but he allowed himself the pleasure of it this time. There was just something about the boy that made him want to protect him. Maybe it was just human instinct, but it made him want to be something to the poor boy. For whatever reason, the village he belonged to didn't hold him in high regard, and Gin was far too noble to allow child abuse to go on when he could have stopped it.

Suddenly a light bulb went off in his head. _'Hmm… That _could_ work…'_

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Naruto woke to the faint sounds of rustling paper. "Ah, you're awake."

Naruto turned his head to see Gin sitting in one a chair next to him reading a book. It had an orange cover with a big red circle with a line through it on it. "Ichimaru-san…? Where am I?" He asked groggily.

"Yer in a hospital." Naruto sat up instantly and looked around in fear.

Gin almost chuckled at the child reaction. "Don't freak out on me already kid." Naruto looked at him in surprise.

"You broke your leg earlier, 'member?"

Naruto thought back to earlier that day and indeed did remember. Gin almost smacked himself as the child curled into a ball and held onto himself.

Gin let the silence go on for several seconds before he spoke. "Hey kid, you got any parents?" Naruto's silence was his answer.

Gin pressed on. "Shouldn't you be in an orphanage or something then?"

Naruto shook his head and barely mumbled, "they kicked me out," to which Gin both wanted to frown and grin at. He stood up and pulled Naruto from the bed and onto his back. Naruto let out a surprised exclamation, but Gin merely carried him out the door and down the stairs.

When they reached the reception area, Gin didn't even spare a glance at the clerk but walked right on out. The gleaming afternoon sun warmed their faces as it shined brightly down on both of them. Gin looked around as Naruto snuggled into his shoulder; he'd had a long hard day, and his body was probably tired from post-shock.

Deciding to let sleeping kids lie, he continued on the road until he saw a large red building in the distance; his destination. Unfortunately he was tired of walking. Not so much for the stress of it, but from the consistent dirty looks. Looking around him he decided, _'might as well'_ and vanished in a blink. The next second he was at the doors of the giant red building. Near the top there was a large golden circle with the kanji of "Fire" on it.

Of course he didn't land directly in front of the building. That would only scare people out of their pants. No, he landed nearby. Walking up to the door of the building, it was opened by a middle-aged man and he stepped inside.

It was fairly comfortable, with the air conditioning running that kept the room temperature at a comfortable level. There were various potted plants hanging from the ceiling, and several indoor trees, though they were so spaced it that it kept from looking like a jungle. In the center of the room, up against the wall was a secretary's desk. Behind it was a woman filing her nails while looking at a book in front of her.

"Hey there!" Gin called out to the woman. She looked up and smiled at him, not noticing the orange clad six year-old on his back. "Hello! How can I help you?"

"Well, I'm new 'round here and I kinda wanted to see the guy up top."

The woman nodded, noticing his foreign attire. "I don't suppose you have an appointment, do you?"

Gin laughed sheepishly and rubbed the back of his neck. "Hehe, nah I don't. But it is kind of important, so fast would be great."

The woman smiled and nodded. "Well normally you'd need an appointment but you look important, and since it's a slow day, I'm sure the Hokage will be thankful for a distraction from his work. Up the stairs on the left, you can't miss it."

Gin gave her a loose fingered salute. "Thanks," and he moved on up the steps to the right of the desk and continued until he found the appropriate door. He rapped his knuckles on the door lightly.

"Come in." he opened the door and looked around. The floor was green with tan walls. There were bookcases along some of the walls and a set of panoramic windows that showed a great view of the village. In front of those windows sat an old man in white robes. There was a stack of papers on one side of the desk and he was currently reading out of a file folder. He looked up from it to see Gin and took on a surprised expression.

"Oh forgive me, I wasn't aware I had a meeting at this time." He said as he placed the file aside and folded his hands on the desk. "So what can I do for you?"

Gin chuckled awkwardly and scratched the back of his head. "Actually, you didn't have an appointment. This is sorta one of those spur o' the moment things."

At this moment the old man seemed to have taken notice of his passenger and the look in his eyes went from amused to worried. "What happened to him?"

It wasn't so much a question as it was a demand, and Gin had to admit he felt compelled to answer him. "W-well, I found him outside the town. He was pretty beat up so I took him to the hospital. He had a broken leg I couldn't fix so the doctors did it."

"When was this?" Again, it was more of a demand than a question.

"I found him earlier this morning."

The old man leaned back in his chair, an expression of contemplation crossing his features. He finally spoke. "My name is Hiruzen Sarutobi, Sandaime Hokage of Konoha. What's yours?"

"Ichimaru Gin, Thir-…" He cut off abruptly and Sarutobi raised an eyebrow.

"Nev'r mind." Gin's facial expression as it always was, impassive, frozen in that permanent smile of his. Internally he corrected himself. _'That title doesn't exist here. Not that it belongs to me anyway.'_

"I see. Then Ichimaru-san, what business do you have in Konoha, and what can I do for you?" Sarutobi asked curtly.

Gin chuckled. "Well, about that…"

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**A/N: And there's chapter one! Chapter two is already half way finished, and I just couldn't wait to post this one! Tell me what you think; good, OK, needs work? Please let me know :)**

**P.S. The little chant Gin sings is roughly trnaslated as...**

*Pinky swear. If you break the promise, I'll make you drink 1,000 needles. Pinky Swear.

**Hope that helps! **


	2. Chapter 2: The Start of Somthing New

A/N: Hey guys! I finished chapter two in study hall today. I wanted to add more, but I didn't know what to add onto it, and it just seemed right to end it there. I hope you guys like it!

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**KSS, Chapter two:  
The Start of Something New.**

The morning light crept in through the windows and stained the blonde haired boy in its glorious light. Naruto opened his eyes to see the ceiling he'd grown accustomed to. It was the ceiling of his own apartment that he'd lived in since he was removed from the orphanage. He sighed and rubbed his eyes of their drowsiness. He'd had a nightmare again, but it ended on an OK note this time. At least he'd been saved. He threw the thin, ragged sheets off his young body and swung his feet over the side. He was clad only in a pair of green boxers that were way too big for him; his other option was a pair of boxers that were way too small for him, and he didn't quite like those, but he couldn't afford to throw them out.

But just as he was getting up to stand, he felt an intense flare of pain from his left leg. He fell to one knee while he gripped the stinging limb. He looked at it carefully. Nothing _looked_ wrong with it. Maybe it was just a joint cracking or something.

Standing up, ignoring the pain, he moved over to the bedroom door and opened it, walking into his empty kitchen. It was small and cramped, with broken dishes and tableware lying around. He knew he'd need to clean it up eventually, but he kept on putting it off.

His stomach growled. _'I know I know. You're hungry. But I don' have any food…'_ He looked around for any sort of scrap of food and saw nothing. He sighed I disappointment. He'd need to forage again today. He went back to his room and took his cloths from where they were folded on the floor and put them on, not realizing the fact that he never folded his cloths. He walked over to the front door and opened it wincing at the bright sun on the horizon.

_'Now where do I look for breakfast today?' _

"My my, you're up early." A voice said casually from beside him. Naruto blinked in surprised and looked to his right to see a man dressed fully in white, silver-purple hair and a permanent smile on his face, and squinting eyes that could probably pierce metal.

"G-Gin-san?" He nearly shouted in surprise as he stumbled back.

Gin smiled wider and laughed. "Yup! It's me."

Naruto suddenly realized his dream that night wasn't a dream at all, but rather areal event. Taking all this in, all he could ask was, "W-why are you here, Gin-san?"

Gin looked out to the sunrise and brushed the seriousness of the boy off nonchalantly. "Ah nothin'! Just makin' sure you got a good night's sleep, considerin' your exciting day yesterday."

Naruto blinked in surprise. "S-so you stayed up all night standing outside? Just to protect me…?"

Gin looked at him again and smiled… wider anyways. "That a problem?"

"W-well, n-not really. But didn't you even sleep a little bit?" Naruto asked. While the man's presence felt familiar and reassuring for some reason, Naruto still felt somewhat intimidated by… well, he couldn't quite put his finger on what _exactly_ was scary about him. It was almost as if he was familiar and intimidating at the same time.

Gin shrugged. "Sleep? What's that?" Naruto didn't know what to say to that, so his stomach took over, speaking in the only way it knew how; it growled loudly. Naruto's face went red from embarrassment and he looked away.

Gin only laughed and stepped over to the boy, placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "If my instincts are right, I'd be guessing you're hungry, right?" he questioned playfully. Naruto sheepishly nodded his head.

"Well, let's get you something to eat then. Know any good places? " He guestured for Naruto to lead them both, but the boy was hesitant. Gin noticed. "What's wrong?" He asked, his smile turning into a confused frown as he bet over to be on eyelevel with the blonde.

Naruto unconsciously gripped the bicep of his left arm with the hand of his right. "Well… I do know a few places that seem nice, but that's only because they never let me in them."

Gin's frown seemed to deepen at this. There was a pregnant silence for a moment before Gin straightened and slapped Naruto lightly on the shoulder. "C'mon, anywhere you wanna go! My treat!"

Naruto looked blank for a moment before his face lit up like a Christmas tree. "R-realy? You really mean it?"

"Hehe, you betcha!"Gin said tucking his hands into the opposite sleeve of his robes.

Naruto was ecstatic with joy, which is why when he grabbed Gin's sleeve to lead them to the dining street of the village, Gin's smile turned into a scowl. _'Why should a kid be excited about going to a simple restaurant? I guess what the Hokage said was true… '_

He recalled that part of the talk he'd had with the old man the other day.

_Flashback_

_"Gin-san, you'll find that Naruto, while rambunctious and happy, really isn't so." The old man's face was set in a sad sort of state. Gin's expression as one of surprise and curiosity. _

_"Wuddia mean Hokage-han*?"_

_Sarutobi took a long inhale from his pipe and continued. "Seeing how things are now, I suppose it's fine for you to know. Naruto has a… a creature of mass destruction sealed within him. You might know it as the Kyuubi no Kitsune. An unfortunate accident happened the day he was born that claimed the life of both his mother and father. That was the sudden appearance of the Kyuubi. It attacked the village and through the sacrifice of the Yondaime Hokage, the beast was sealed inside Naruto to protect the village. The Kyuubi is a Bijuu, and the strongest there is to boot. Most can be sealed away temporarily in special objects, but not the Kyuubi. It_ has_ to have a human container. Naruto just happened to be born on that day, and he was the prime subject for it. He would be able to grow with the demon and develop a type of symbiotic relationship with it. At least, that was the thinking of the Yondaime. Unfortunately the people of the village remember the attack, and condemn him for holding the thing responsible for it. All the deaths, all the emotional pain, all the damages… they pin it all on Naruto now…" His eyes were closed at that point._

_He looked sad right then. Maybe it was Gin, but he could have sworn that a shadow of regret passed over the man's face. "…I see. So that's why he was attacked."_

_"Most likely. There are a few other reasons that can't be ruled out, especially at his age, but they are less likely."_

_" 'His age?' "_

_The Hokage looked back at Gin. "Ah, right, you wouldn't know. Naruto is of the age where he could join the Ninja Academy. In other words, he's ready for training. There are many parties in the village would want him purely for his potential as a killing and destructive machine."_

_Gin didn't say anything to that. Both were silent for a while before Sarutobi brought a smile to his face before continuing. "I'm glad to know you'll be taking good care of him."_

_Gin didn't smile now. There was no possible way he could. "I owe it to 'im. After all, I was the one who-…"_

"We're here Gin-san!"

Gin was shaken from his memories by Naruto's cheerful voice. They were standing in the middle of a large street with eateries on either side of them for the whole length of the road. Gin was somewhat amazed. There were so many choices that Gin couldn't believe it. There were nearly twenty food shops within sight alone.

"Eheh… Which one is it?" Gin asked, sweat-dropping at the strangeness of the scene. Naruto still looked a bit unsure about going near them, but with Gin by his side, he felt empowered.

"That one! It always smelled good when I went by it." He pointed to a fancy looking restaurant and Gin nodded.

"Well, let's not be waitin'! Get in there!" Gin said, giving Naruto a small nudge. He had an inkling as to what was going to happen now as he followed behind the boy. And he wasn't incorrect. As soon as Naruto go within ten feet of the entrance, a man standing outside, the man who took parties and seated them, started yelling at Naruto.

"Hey! You brat, how many times do we have to kick you out? We've told you to scram!" Naruto saw something metal flash behind the waiter and he saw a sort of baton used to quell riots when lethal force wasn't permitted. Naruto about jumped back and ran away when Gin stepped up behind him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Go on in," he said as if he'd not even noticed the waiter standing there. Naruto looked at him uncertainly, but nodded as he saw Gin's smiling face. He hesitantly stepped inside while the waiter was distracted by Gin's presence.

"Hey you little shit! Get back out here!" he screamed at the blonde child. But he'd already gone inside. The waiter took the baton and made after him, but Gin stopped him with a hand to the shoulder.

"Ya don't wanna do that."

The man brushed his hand off glared at him. "No, I'm pretty sure I do."

"Your funeral," Gin said simply. Shoving his hands into his pockets, his grin somehow taking on a smug appearance.

The man made to go inside after Naruto, but paused for a moment before looking back at Gin. "…Why don't I want to be doing it?" He asked suspiciously.

"Ah, well that's the clincher." Gin withdrew his right hand and with it came a scroll he had been given by the Hokage. With a small flick of his wrist, the scroll was tossed to the waiter. He caught it easily enough and opened it, reading what was written within. The man's scowl grew in intensity before he looked that man with wide eyes. "…You…?"

Gin smirked and brought a finger up to his lips. "That's not somethin' you want to be sharin' either. Keep it to yourself. But the first part of that letter, by all means, spread that around."

The man looked at Gin dazed. As if in disbelief, he looked at the scroll again and then back at Gin. Gin simply walked past him, plucking the scroll from the man's stunned hands and going inside. Within, Naruto wasn't getting a much better treatment. People were glaring at him, though when Gin walked up and placed a hand on the boy's shoulder and looked at them, they instantly went back to their meals. The waiter from outside came in and directed them to their seats. "M-my name is Zoshi, I'll be taking care of you this evening. Order whenever you're ready," he said while handing them both a menu.

Gin took it and flipped through it. Looking over the edge, he could see Naruto was having some trouble. "We're gonna need a few minutes," Gin told Zoshi, who nodded, bowed at the waist, and took his leave.

Gin looked at his menu and decided on some eggs and a simple salad. Naruto seemed to scrunch his eyes are his menu, as if he were having trouble reading it, which he was.

"What's wrong there Naruto?"

Naruto looked at Gin with an embarrassed and frustrated expression. "I don't understand what half of these are…"

"Oh, we'll just read the little description that tells you what's in it."

Naruto looked back at the menu and saw that there was indeed, in smaller print, a description of what each meal contained. The waiter came back and took Gin's order. Then he turned to Naruto who ordered ramen with a side of red bean paste.

_'Not the healthiest meal he coulda chosen…' _Gin thought.

The waiter took their menus and left. Gin rested his chin on his hands, on folded under the other and stared intently at the boy. Naruto looked nervous, not so much from Gin's attention but from something else entirely. He kept looking around at his surroundings and fidgeting. He rubbed his hands together in between his legs as he did so.

Gin decided he would try and get Naruto talking; he remembered the Hokage saying Naruto was more at peace when he talked. "So Naruto, tell me about yourself. You got any hobbies?"

Naruto looked at him for a moment before shrugging. "Not really… I'm sure there are things I _would_ like, but I don't know what they are."

Gin "hmm"-ed and scratched the side of his head. Then he thought of something. "The Hokage also said yer scared of ninja."

Naruto looked surprised but nodded solemnly. "They scare me…"

Gin smiled at the boy reassuringly. "Well, I've learned two things in my life. One, face yer fears." Naruto looked at him, knowing what he meant. Hokage-jiji had said something similar a long time ago.

"An' two…" Gin began, an image of Aizen flashing through his mind. "…know your enemy as yerself."

Naruto looked up at him susprised. He'd never heard that saying before. "What does that mean?"

"It's simple." Gin said in a light tone. "The best way to know your enemy…" He reached over and placed a hand on the blond boys' messy blonde hair. "Is to become yer enemy."

Naruto sat shocked for a moment before realizing the gravity of Gin's words. "Y-y-you mean I s-should become a n-ninja?"

Gin only smiled wider in response. He retracted his hand and leaned back in the booth. "Just givin' ya some friendly advice. What you do with it is up ta you."

Naruto thought about it for a minute. Sure he was scared of ninja, and becoming one was a scary thought too. But becoming a ninja meant that he would be afraid of himself. _'But you can't be afraid of yourself… can you? You'd have to _not_ be scared of yourself to get anything done.'_ Realization hit him like a ton of bricks. _'That's right… If I become a ninja, then I won't be scared of them anymore!'_ His face lit up like a light.

Gin saw it and knew what it meant. Sure there were other ways of getting Naruto over his fears of ninja, but this was the most direct way. Plus, he would need boy to be able to take care of himself when he wasn't here.

By this time the food came. And they happily dug in. Naruto seemed to gobble it down heartily, and it made Gin want to laugh at how the boy was loving it all. When they had finished, Naruto sat back and sighed in contentment. "That was the most I've eaten in a month!"

Gin did not let that comment escape his realization, considering Naruto only ordered one meal. _'One meal a month, huh?'_ He didn't voice it, but that was pathetic by _anyone's_ standards. Gin let them both sit for a while to digest the food before playing some money on the table and motioning Naruto to follow him out. The glares they received were easily ignored, since Naruto was so happy.

They stepped back out into the street and Gin looked at the sky. It was probably around nine or ten o'clock in the morning. _'Oh yea this place has watches down they? I should probably get one,'_ He mused as he put his hands in his pockets.

"Ano, Gin-san…?"

Gin looked down from where he was staring at the sky to see Naruto fidgeting again. But now he _did_ seem uncomfortable with the ex-Third captain. "Nani?"

"Well… Um… I-if you don't mind me asking…" the young child began, not looking Gin in the eyes, but rather finding his feet more interesting to look at as he brushed them one over the other. "…Why are you being so n-nice to m-me?"

Gin had expected this question, but at the same time, was not completely prepared to answer it. "Well…" Gin began after a tense moment of silence. "Ahh… Hell wit' it. I asked the Hokage to become yer guardian."

Naruto's eyes suddenly shot up and looked at the smiling man. "Y-you mean you'll be l-like my dad…?" Naruto asked almost afraid the answer would be no.

Gin started in surprise as he thought about that, his uncanny smile vanishing. "Y-yeah, I guess I kinda will be." He hadn't thought about it like that. But it wasn't a bad thing. He hadn't thought about how Naruto might take it; at least, not like that.

All of a sudden, a great force smashed into Gin. He "oof"-ed loudly in surprise before he realized that the force was the little blonde boy who had his arms wrapped tightly around his waist. He was crying softly, small shining tears sliding down his cheeks.

"T-thank you s-sooo m-m-much!" Naruto managed to cry out between sobs of happiness.

Gin was taken quite aback by this. He hesitantly, more out of uncertainty than anything, placed his left hand atop the boy's head, which barely reached his neck and the other over the boy's back.

"Hey hey, it's ok kid. Ain't no need to cry on me," he joked aloud, as he ruffled the boy's hair soothingly.

Naruto slowly pulled back and wiped the tears away while continuing to sob. He didn't know where the emotion came from all of a sudden. All he knew was that he couldn't stop them. "I-I'm s-sorry Gin-s-san… I c-couldn't h-help it…" He continued to try and clear his eyes of tears. "I-it's just that n-nobody's ever e-ever tried to be my f-friend, let alone t-t-this..." He sniffled in joy and disbelief.

Gin took on an understanding look and smiled softly. He bent down to the boy's level. "Hey, look at me…" He brought Naruto's chin up to look him in the eyes. "… no one deserves ta be alone. Don'tcha think?" He grinned as Naruto's eyes widened a little. But he recovered and jumped into Gin's arms again, now wrapping them around the man's neck. They stayed like that for several minutes, ignoring the strange stares they received. Gin personally was well beyond his comfortable level, but Naruto needed this, so he wouldn't deny him.

But all things come to an end. He broke from the weeping child and smiled at him. "That's enough cryin' fer now. We got a day ta spend!"

"O-ok…" He wiped the last of the tears from his face. When he once again looked Gin in the eyes, the Shinigami could literally see the joy in them. "So what are we gonna do?"

Gin put a hand to his chin in thought. He looked down at Naruto. He had an idea. He snapped his fingers and made a face, standing up to full height. "We're goin' shoppin'."

Naruto blinked at him in surprise. "…Huh?"

Gin chuckled at the boy. "You, me, a whole day of getting what YOU want and need. You up fo' that?"

Naruto beamed at his new guardian and nodded fervently. "You bet Gin-san!"

"Hehe, just Gin," the silver haired man said.

Naruto nodded readily. "You bet Gin!"

Gin ruffled his hair and patted him on the back, leading them both to the shopping area of Konoha's main street. The nice thing about living in Soul Society for so long is that the great wealth as a captain meant a whole lot more in this world. The SS currency compared to this one had a 1:3 ratio. So gin was essentially paid triple what anyone in this world was. He had average captain-class income, but here that was like king's money.

It came in handy often. The shopping street had tons of stores, and Gin headed straight for one of the clothing stores. "Why do e have to shop for cloths first Gin-nii-san?"

Gin looked at him curiously. _'Nii-san? Well, it's better than tou-san... Don't think I'd ever get used to that.'_ He smiled as he held the door open for the child. "We'll get the boring part over and done wit' first. Then we can do more fun shoppin' after, 'k?"

Naruto nodded his head fervently and stepped inside.

* * *

Naruto and Gin both walked out of the final store, each holding several boxes. Naruto was grinning ear to ear with a smile Gin would envy. But it made the former captain happy that he was having so much fun. He probably hadn't been given anything of worth in months, maybe even years. They'd bought tons more clothes for the six year old to wear, considering the only thing he had was those weird orange and blue shirt and shorts.

Naruto couldn't wait until tomorrow to try the new clothes on. Of course they'd done more than clothes shopping; they also bought some new furniture for his apartment, thought they would have to move them in some other day.

The sun was beginning to disappear behind the horizon by the time they got back to Naruto's apartment. Naruto set a handful of bags down and opened the door for his new protector. He managed to force his open and ran inside with his things. Gin wasn't far behind and he deposited the bags on the small table.

Naruto began pulling out and putting away the series of clothing he'd been bought. Gin had definitely had an amusing day that was for sure. The sheer joy on Naruto's face as he looked through the store for something he'd wear, while Gin showed the owner the same scroll he'd shown the waiter. It contained information, or rather orders from the Hokage to allow Naruto and anyone with him to shop for free. Gin however decided to pay them anyway. There was no need to piss off the shopkeepers too much. That mostly applied were Gin not there. Hiruzen had told him that the two elders who acted as a council would probably not approve of that action. But he wasn't Hokage for nothing.

Gin watched as Naruto disrobed completely, even taking off his boxers in his haste.

"Haha, Whoa trigga, no need to hurry," Gin laughed out in amusement as Naruto pulled out a pair of brand new clothes. He slipped on some new boxers, ones that fit him properly now, a new black shirt and some green sweatpants. He rushed into his room where there was a full length mirror hidden inside his closet. Opening the door, he admired his new attire. He literally shined with happiness.

"These cloths are awesome! They actually fit me, and they're clean and everything!" He shouted out with enthusiasm. Gin continued to watch the boy with interest, a small grin forming on his face (added onto his normal one). But he wasn't entirely happy. _'A kid shouldn't be that happy when getting somthin' as boring as cloths. They should be complainin' and makin' a big fuss. Only the absolutely desperate should act as happy as he is.'_ It was a sad thought, that Naruto _was_ absolutely desperate.

All the more reason Gin was doing what he was doing.

They evening passed on, and Naruto went to sleep in his brand new pajamas, his comfortable snores reach Gin's ears, even from outside. Gin looked at the door, raised his hand to it, and with a shimmer, a defensive spell blinked into life, covering the whole doorframe. _'That should be enough fer now.'_

With that he took his leave, and in the moonlight made his way to the Hokage's tower, his robes flowing in his wake. Gin rather enjoyed moonlit walks. He liked the night _period._ It was just his nature. His trip was uneventful; shops were closing for the night, while others were opening or changing shifts. The air was peaceful… content. It was very calm, with only the slight hum of voices from inside buildings and the light therein to light his way. The moon hung just above and slightly to the right of the tower ahead.

He opened one of the double doors in the front and stepped in. The cool air of the air conditioned interior washed over him and it was comforting from the humid, but not uncomfortable outside. The secretary was napping on her desk so Gin took the liberty to continue upstairs. He once again found the door to the office and knocked. The answer allowed him in and he closed the door behind him. He had some things to discuss with the Hokage.

* * *

The next morning came slowly to Naruto. He opened his eyes slowly, wincing as the bright sunlight shed itself on his face. He pulled the covers over his head and continued to sleep until his body finally woke up. Now, ready to get up, he pulled off the covers, and immediately became excited as he remembered his new cloths. He swiftly exited his bed and dashed over to his closet. He opened it up to see a whole assortment of clothing he'd been bought the other day. His smile reached from ear to ear as he gazed upon the assortment.

Once his reverie was over he began going through them to see what he would wear today.

It was about this time that Gin knocked on his bedroom door. "Just a second!" Naruto responded.

He finished pulling on his shirt and opened the door, standing proudly in his new outfit. Gin whistled in admiration. "Got some nice threads there don'tcha?" Naruto nodded excitedly.

He was wearing a black short-sleeved shirt with a green, unzipped vest along with tan pants and the normal sandal-shoes that most people wore. The shirt itself bore and orange spiral in the middle of his chest. "Well? I look awesome, right?" Naruto said with enthusiasm.

Gin chuckled and nodded, slipping his hands out of their opposite sleeves. "You look like the coolest kid in town! But even the coolest kids need to eat. C'mon, I got breakfast waitin' for ya." Naruto jumped into the kitchen at the thought of food. On the table he saw, to his pleasure, a whole family sized pack of steaming ramen. Naruto quickly sat in his seat and grabbed the chopsticks. Gin also sat down and opened his own smaller cup of ramen. "Itadakimasu!" Gin chanted and began eating. Naruto for his part dove in and began inhaling the noodles as if they were much needed air.

The meal was over in minutes. Naruto sat back in his seat full. Gin chucked his empty cup into the trashcan and leaned back. "Oi, Naruto…"

"What?"

"Remember what I said the oth'r day 'bout you becomin' a ninja?"

Naruto fidgeted at that but nodded.

"You thought about it?"

Naruto looked down a little. His face was slightly crestfallen, but he looked up and nodded. "Yeah, and I want to become a ninja!"

Gin was obviously pleased. But his next question surprised the blond. "Why?"

Naruto blinked at him, his determined face disappearing. He remained silent.

"Becomin' a shinobi ain't a bad thing. The question is, _why_ do ya wanna become one? Just to face yer fears?"

Naruto looked at the Shinigami in surprise. Sure he _did_ want to rid himself of his fear of ninja, but was there really another reason? "I don't know... If I become a ninja, I can protect myself." That was a good enough answer… wasn't it?

Gin leaned forward and looked Naruto straight in the eyes. "Yer pretty young, so I don't expect you to know, but then again, I don't mind tellin' ya. I was your age when I learned it. There is only one reason you should try and gain power…"

"R-realy? What is it?"

Gin placed a hand on the Naruto's head, ruffling his hair. Naruto's eyes widened as Gin's opened for the first time since their meeting. They were sky blue, almost luminescent. The piercing orbs seemed to delve straight into Naruto's soul. Like a sword to paper, Gin's eyes seemed almost to able to pierce through any one's lies or deception.

"…to protect the one's you love."

Naruto thought about that for a moment. First of all, he didn't know what love was. Second of all, there was no body he wanted to protect, probably because there was no one who he _needed_ to protect. Gin could see his confusion and chuckled. "Well, I s'ppose you'll understand it better when you're older. But in the mean time… " He reached into his cloak and pulled out a pair of green goggles. "…your academy classes start tomorrow." His grin widened as Naruto's eyes did the same. His small hand reached out ot delicately pluck the goggles from Gin's hand.

"Y-you mean… I'm gonna be a ninja?" Naruto asked hesitantly. Sure he said he did, but that was totally different from _knowing_ you were going to be one.

Gin only smiled, as he always did. "Yep, yer gonna be a ninja."

* * *

**A/N: Chapter two complete! I 'm beginning to like this story about as much as you guys. Eighteen reviews for a single chapter! And the first chapter to boot. Thank you all very much! :D I love you guys! I can't wait t start writing the next chapter, and see what you think about this one! Luv y'all!**


	3. Chapter 3: Not Afraid

**A/N: Hey hey hey! I'm back! Sorry it took so long to finish the chapter but school suddenly became troublesome and annoying. It also just ended up being long this time :/ Oh well, what're ya gonna do. Thanks for all the reviews by the way, thats more than I've ever gotten per-chapter! So here's chapter three. Hope you like it; tell me what you think!  
**

**KSS, Chapter 3:  
Not Afraid**

* * *

_**Five Years Later**_

Naruto breathed in deeply, feeling the air fill his lungs and then exit them. He opened his eyes and blinked away the fuzziness. He sighed deeply. He looked around his apartment; nothing had changed. He was alone now. Gin had left him several months after he had saved him. He said he would be back if he could, and Naruto was holding him to that, even after so long. He knew Gin was strong, and besides, he simply couldn't abandon hope for his "father." But that small amount of time Gin had spent with the young blonde had not been for naught. He had taught Naruto many things in those few months. Self-respect was one of them. That, kenjutsu, how to detect reiatsu and use reiryoku, a new fashion sense, and, most importantly, why he should use them. Gin was a very lax teacher, but being Naruto's unofficial dad did give Naruto motivation to work hard at his training. Naruto joined the academy a few days after Gin had suggested it and he struggled. Add to it that a few months later Gin left unannounced and Naruto was in deep trouble academically.

But Naruto wasn't a quitter. He did what he could to pass, doing his best in ninjutsu training, cheating on tests if need be, and trying to make friends. That was one thing Gin had stressed on a few days before he left, and Naruto felt duty bound to abide by his adopted father's wishes. Unfortunately he had very little luck in that department. As usual, people avoided him like the plague, and while he could stand it with the unspoken support of the missing silver haired man, he still felt empty inside. It was enough to make him cry sometimes, but through meditation, one of the few _boring_ things Gin taught Naruto to do, he was able to calm his mind and aching heart.

He sighed as he stood up. _'No luck again today.'_ For every morning of every day since Gin left, Naruto had been trying to access… something. Gin had told him that through meditation he would be able to gain a higher power, though he never said what that power was. All he said was that it had to do with his small wakizashi that Gin had given him as a gift. Naruto had always wanted to use Gin's sword, so Gin got him a small wakizashi as a present. Besides at the time it was only bladed weapon that was proportionate to Naruto's size.

Naruto stood up and took the sword in his lap and placed it on his bed beside him. Today was an important day though; today was the day he was going to graduate.

He'd been in the academy for six years and he'd failed the graduation exams three times. He was tired of it. It was mundane, going to school every day, learning nothing, just living on in a senseless existence. He was done with it. Today he would advance into the ranks of shinobi. He dressed himself and attached his small blade to his hip and walked out of his apartment, grabbing an apple from the counter.

He had done very well for himself since Gin came into his life. All the stores were forced to sell him food, or give, if he didn't have any money. At first he was met with resistance, but with Gin by his side he was able get what he wanted. After Gin left, the unspoken threat of his return was enough to scare the villagers into giving him what he wanted.

He stepped out into the bright sunlight of midmorning. He smiled. _'This is gonna be a good day… Yeah.'_ His azure eyes gazed at the pale blue sky. _'I'll do it. This time… I can't fail again. Not anymore.'_

He turned on his heel and lightly walked into the street all the way to the academy.

**

* * *

**

Several minutes later…

Naruto sighed as the morning droned on. He was bored out of his mind, not to mention nervous. May of the students were participating in the exams. He simply sat at his desk, waiting for his name to be called. "N-Naruto-kun…"

Naruto blinked and looked to his right. Next to him was the one person Naruto felt actually cared for him. Probably the closest person he could call a friend. Hyuuga Hinata wasn't ever mean to him. Instead she seemed to use have the utmost respect for him. Why? He had no idea, but he wasn't one to turn down friendship. But even then, they barely talked; as the first born of the clan head of the Hyuuga clan, she was the heiress to it and a street rat like him wasn't allowed to associate himself with her.

At least, that what the various Hyuuga said to him when they caught him and Hinata talking, even if just outside the school doors. Curious though, they didn't yell at anyone else who talked to her. Even so, Naruto didn't care. What right did they have over his, or even her life? The classroom was the only place where they could talk without fear of reproach. But even then, they had to be careful. Hinata had warned him there were some teachers who had been given specific instructions not to let them near each other. Fortunately, Iruka-sensei didn't seem to mind, and they were both in his class.

He smiled foxily at her in response. "Good morning Hinata-sama. How're you feeling today?" Naruto of course was aware of her "princess" status and always made sure to treat her accordingly. He was polite, gentlemanly (as far as he knew how to be). He would bow to her when entering the class room and saying goodbye, be careful not to get too close to her, lest prying eyes detect some sort of ill intent, whether legit or not. Even though she often told him he didn't need to be so formal with her, he never seemed to listen.

The girl had a stutter, but he didn't mind. He knew tell she was shy, as if there wasn't a moron in the world who couldn't figure that out.

"D-do you think you're g-going to p-pass today N-naruto-san?" She asked quietly, looking at him with her pale lavender eyes.

Naruto smiled and nodded. "I don't have a choice. If I don't I'll be stuck here for another year, and I am _not_ doing that again!"

Hinata smiled and looked back to her desk whereon her hands were linked together and she was twiddling her thumbs. "I h-hope you pass t-too…" She said softly.

Naruto remained silent after that as Hinata's name was called and she got up and went to the front of the classroom.

"Alright Hinata, like the last one, you have to do the **Henge**, **Bunshin** and K**awarimi** techniques properly to pass," Iruka said as he held a clipboard in front of him and looking at her expectantly. She was very smart and good at those jutsu too, but her shy attitude sometimes made her perform at less than adequate levels. Naturally her association with Naruto was blamed.

She nodded and brought her hands together. "**Henge!**" There was a poof of smoke and inside it appeared a nearly perfect replica of Iruka. The scar on his nose was absent though, and Iruka marked down on his clipboard a note or two.

"OK, very good! Now try **Bunshin no Jutsu**," He said. Again Hinata nodded and closed her eyes. Bringing her hands together in the ram seal, she focused hard. The corners of her eyes scrunched up and with a small cry and a poof of smoke, beside her stood two copies of her. Iruka stepped forward, along with another teacher named Mizuki and they examined her clones.

Nodding to each other, Iruka continues on. "Well done, now the **Kawarimi.**"

Hinata nodded and focused her chakra. There was a curtain of to the side of the room and behind it was a small log. To pass the test, and examiner would throw a small rubber ball at you and you would need to use the Kawarimi to switch with the log behind the white screen.

"Ready?" Iruka asked, tossing said rubber ball in the air. The young Hyuuga nodded and prepared herself. Iruka brought his arm back and held it there for a moment. Then with a small blur he chucked it at her. The jutsu was flawless, as soon as the ball hit her she had already switched with the log. Both it and the ball fell to the floor.

Both men applauded her work. "Well done Hinata! You've passed, congratulations!"Iruka smiled at her while Mizuki offered her a blue forehead protector. Hinata's eyes were wide as she reached out to take it, and ever so slowly a grin worked its way onto her face. She looked at Mizuki and joyfully bowed to him and thanked him. Then she ran back to her seat next to Naruto who had just enough time to congratulate her before his name was called.

"Uzumaki Naruto, please step forward." Naruto sighed and got up. He was dressed in black baggy pants with shinobi shoes, a smoke grey vest and a white Tee beneath. His wakizashi was in his locker, since he wasn't allowed to bring it in the classroom. His academy goggles were adorned on his forehead, but he was going to make certain that they were replaced by a real hitae-ate by the end of the day.

"OK Naruto, you know the drill, transformation, clone, replacement," Iruka said pinching the bridge of his nose. He honestly didn't want to fail Naruto _again_ but he would grade him according to the quality of his work. He didn't know about the other teachers, but he didn't play favorites.

Naruto nodded and readied himself. He closed his eyes and concentrated and brought his hands together in the ram seal. He could feel the chakra building up inside him. When he had gathered an appropriate amount he opened his eyes and with a grunt transformed. The smoke enveloped the room and Iruka sighed with an annoyed face and before the smoke could clear he used the clipboard and swung it into the mist. There was a pained shout from within. "No naked girls this time! Be serious!"

Naruto glared at him through the thinning fog. "Your no fun Iruka-sensei…" He said while rubbing his head.

Iruka returned the glare. "I'm serious Naruto. You don't want to fail again do you?"

Naruto grunted and looked away in annoyance. "Fine…" He brought his hands together again and transformed. His version of Iruka was pretty solid, with a few proportion inconsistencies, but the basic appearance was the same. Iruka nodded and jotted it down on his paper. "Could use some work, but its decent. Now make a clone."

Naruto nodded, but much more seriously this time. He hated this jutsu more than anything, simply because he couldn't get it down. He concentrated hard, being extra careful on his chakra molding and control. Gin had taught him a little bit, but it wasn't in chakra. It was something Gin called "reiryoku" and it was different than chakra. Gin had said there were very few people in the world that could use it, and Naruto was one of them. He also told Naruto never to tell anyone else about it unless he could absolutely trust them. So far, Naruto had found no such person. Hinata was a candidate, but he didn't know her well enough personally to tell her. He probably could tell the Hokage, but he probably already knew about it. The old man was just like that.

Molding reiryoku was easier than chakra he found out, so it was good practice. But when he tried to mold chakra, it was so much more difficult… harder to control. Fortunately he always managed to make it work somehow. He hoped now was one of those times. "**Bunshin no jutsu!**" There was a poof of smoke and Naruto sighed heavily with fatigue as he bent over and leaned on his knees. Looking to his right he could see a fairly well made clone of his creation. It was exactly like him, except it wasn't wearing any clothes. Immediately he blushed and placed himself in front of it and the class, and he was fortunate enough that the smoke lingered just long enough over his privates for him to stand in front of it.

"Waah!" The class laughed hysterically at him, and he noticed Hinata sported a small blush and was looking away. _'Shit! That wasn't supposed to happen!'_

Iruka smacked his head on his forehead. He would have hit Naruto again were it not for the fact that he really did try this looked at the clone, as he was behind it and thus still able to see it, and was able to judge from its shape and form that it was at least similar to Naruto, but as he'd never seen the boy naked (as a boy anyway) he couldn't judge too accurately. It was decent, but Naruto's form of it was obviously skewed. The fact that it bore no clothes meant he had lost his concentration and hadn't poured the right amount of chakra into it. Form, OK. Appearance, OK. Decency, not OK.

"Hurry up and grade it already!" Naruto yelled as he and the clone tried to cover up his pride. Iruka shook his head and wrote down on his clip board, Mizuki laughing in the background. "There."

Naruto quickly dispelled the embarrassed clone and rubbed his face free of its blush. "S-sorry Iruka-sensei… I-I really did try that time." Naruto said, his voice low with self-disappointment. Iruka sighed and gave the boy a sympathetic smile.

"I know Naruto, I know." He looked back down at his clipboard and cleared his throat. "Moving on…" The class settled at that, though snickers still ran rampant. "Kawarimi if you would please Naruto."

Naruto nodded and did as Hinata had done earlier, and with the same quality, if less grace. Iruka nodded again and wrote down on his clipboard. When he was done he looked at it for a long moment before grunting lowly in his throat. Naruto waited with barely contained patience.

"Well, you did well enough on the transformation and the replacement, but your clone really dropped your grade. Even though it was… *ahem* indecent, it looked at least somewhat realistic…" He trailed off quietly. After a few tense seconds, he looked to Mizuki, who shrugged his shoulders. "We'll take your score into consideration Naruto."

Naruto sighed in disappointment. He probably failed again. He wouldn't be surprised. "You can return to your seat now." He did so, dejectedly slumping to his designated spot.

"Hey Naruto, you trying to seduce the teachers to pass?"

"Loser!"

"You're pathetic Uzumaki!"

"Better luck next century, idiot!"

Naruto glared at the various mockers before he sat down with a groan. Folding his arms on the desk, he buried his face into the nook of his elbow in mortification and depression.

Hinata looked at him with pity and said, "A-at least they didn't f-fail you i-immediately this time… They may a-actually p-pass you!"

"…I want to die."

She sighed, empathetically sorry for him "…Naruto-kun…"

Naruto peaked an eye over at her as soon as the words left her mouth.

He'd told her not to call him so familiarly. They could both get in trouble if others heard that. He'd repeatedly asked her to call him Naruto-_san_. But at times it would slip and she'd call him Naruto-kun. It's not like he didn't mind the title of familiarity, but they'd only get in trouble if her Hyuuga brethren found out. He wasn't exclusive, though; they did that for everyone she was around, and it made him feel somewhat relieved that it wasn't just him.

Still though, he supposed Hinata was right. That hadn't failed him, yet anyway.

"*sigh…* I guess you're right… Still… that just down right sucked. Sorry you had to see that though," he said with a slight blush. Hinata also blushed as she turned away from him a bit. "I-its ok… I d-didn't see a-anything s-so…"

Naruto sighed in relief and accepted the following silence between the two of them as the exams continued.

* * *

The class eventually ended, with probably half of them passing. He went to his locker and pulled out his small blade and fixed it to his belt. He was sullen the rest of the day and spent it on the swing outside, recollecting the entire process of the exam. _'I screwed up again. They probably won't pass me… they never do.'_ His gaze was downcast. _'If only I didn't suck so much at that stupid clone technique I'd pass!'_ He sighed audibly. He turned his eyes skyward and watched as the clouds floated by. _'Tou-san… wherever you are, I wish you were here…'_ He heard whispers and low murmurs from across the way and saw a crowd of people in front of the academy, mostly parents congratulating their children. But some of them were looking his way and talking amongst themselves in low tones. He didn't know what they were saying, but their tone was unmistakable.

He looked back to the ground. His eyes closed, and a lone tear gently crept out and crawled down his cheek._'I'm so alone…'_

He was startled out of his thoughts by a heavy hand on his shoulder. It was Mizuki-sensei. He wiped his face quickly and looked at the man expectantly.

"Hey there Naruto," He said with a friendly smile. "Your test scores were pretty low, and they're considering not passing you this year." Naruto nodded and looked back to the ground. "_But…_"

Naruto looked back at him again, hope igniting in his eyes. "…There's some extra credit we're willing to let you do."

Naruto's eyes widened. "Extra credit? What is it?" He jumped up excitedly from the swing.

Mizuki smiled again. "Well, you see, there's this scroll hidden somewhere deep in the Hokage tower, and you need to find it, and bring it to that old shack in the northern forest… without getting caught. Do that, and you'll score enough to pass!"

Naruto immediately smiled and nodded. "Awsome! Can I start right now?"

Mizuki laughed, "I don't see why not."

"Sweet! I won't fail you sensei! Or the test!"

Mizuki only smirked as the boy ran away to do his quest. _'Chump.'_

* * *

Naruto was elated. Well, maybe more like overjoyed that he had been given a way to pass. He wasn't going to give that up, not a chance. He waited until dark before attempting the nab, sneaking through the streets around to the back of the Hokage tower. _'No one should be working this time of night, so the offices are probably clear…'_ He looked up and spotted a darkened window. _'That's my best bet.'_ Clambering up the wall, using drainpipes and loose planks of wood to haul himself up, he did his best to remain silent. There were times when he'd scrape himself but it was just a scratch or two; nothing he couldn't take. At last he made it to the window and slipped inside. The office was dark and he knew that this part of he tower was probably just as dim. Sneaking through it though wasn't the problem. Naruto knew that there would be ninja proctors simulating real enemies and would catch hi if hey saw him. But as he followed the map Mizuki had given him, he found almost no "enemies" in his way. In fact, even when he found the scroll, there was little out there to stop him. It made him angry, thinking they had dumbed down the test for him so he could pass easier, but then again, at least he was going to pass this time.

Escaping through the same window he'd used to get in, he carefully crawled down to the safety of the ground. He landed with a thud and a grunt, his eyes glancing around, looking for danger. Seeing, and hearing nothing, he hesitantly rose from his crouch and took to the alleys, his destination; outside the village. He was able to get out just as easily as anything else he did that night, just a little stealth and quiet.

Naruto arrived at the small shack that Mizuki had told him about. A quick look around showed that no one else was there. "That's weird… Mizuki-sensei was supposed to be here by now…" He hmm-ed and crossed his arms over his chest. "Maybe I finished early? Yeah, that could explain it! But they made it so easy… I hope they don't dock me for it." Naruto didn't have a watch, so he could only estimate the time. "Ahhh, but now I'm bored! What should I do in the meantime…?" He rested his hands behind his head and sighed. Suddenly he let his eyes wander to the side of the shack were the scroll was sitting. "I wonder if there's anything written in it…" He stepped over to it and sat down, laying it flat on the ground and unrolling it. As soon as he did, his eyes lit up like a light.

"S-sugoi! There must be dozens, maybe hundreds of jutsu in this scroll!" Then as soon as the realization hit him he sat up straight. _'Wait, am I supposed to open it? He didn't say whether I could or not. Maybe… maybe I should just put it away. Yeah…'_

Naruto went to close it when a small voice in the back of his head told him to read on. _'Well… I guess a small peak wouldn't hurt...'_ He unrolled it and delved deep inside, his eyes widening in wonder.

Seconds ticked by, then minutes, then, seemingly hours. Naruto scoured the scroll for techniques, being sure to write them down on his own, smaller scroll. He wasn't even paying attention to what they were really; only knowing that if the jutsu in this scroll were real, then he'd hit the jackpot.

His hand froze mid stroke. Was that a twig he heard snap? He whirled to a stance, knife in hand. "Who's there?"

He looked around; no one. But that didn't mean they weren't there. He closed his eyes and concentrated on his hearing. Gin had always told him never to rely on only one sense and to try and hone them all.

"_Did you know Naruto…?" Gin said in an entertaining voice. Naruto looked up from where he was eating his lunch._

"_Blind people c'n hear much better than people who can see? Same goes for the opposite."_

_Naruto looked interested. "How come?"_

"_Well, they say it's cuz the lack of one sense improved the other four," He explained simply. Then with a voice of not-so-sudden enlightenment, he looked at Naruto and said, "Hey! Why don't you try doin' that? I bet it'd make you one helluva shinobi if you could learn to make your sense better!"_

_Naruto looked at him with anxious surprise. "You really think so?"_

"_Absolutely!" Gin answered, matching his tone._

"_Wow! I'm gonna try that today for trainin'!" Naruto replied. Gin simply laughed and encouraged him._

With his eyes closed he concentrated on the sounds around him. Suddenly the quiet, almost inaudible sound of breathing could be heard. Turning his head, but not opening his eyes, he directed his ears in the direction he thought he'd heard it. Sure enough he could hear it better off to his left.

He opened his eyes and shouted out in that same direction, "I know you're over there! I passed the test already, so come on out!" He could now see a dark silhouette in the shadows of the trees. It hesitantly took a few steps forward before its face could be seen in the dim light of the moon.

"H-Hinata-sama? What are you doing out here so late at night?" Naruto said, immediately bowing at the waist after shaking off the initial shock; he never knew who was watching. Hinata accepted his bow reluctantly, but stayed beside the tree next to her, as if trying to hide behind it.

"I-I s-saw you running t-through the street earlier and t-thought y-you were in trouble s-so I f-f-followed you h-here…"

"O-oh… sorry for worrying you. This is just a bonus test Mizuki-sensei gave me so I could pass, since my academy exam was kind of…" he thought back to probably one of the more embarrassing moments of his life. "…iffy."

"O-oh, I see… I guess I k-kind of got c-carried away…" she said, looking away from him.

"B-but hey! Better safe than sorry, right?" Naruto said and forced a smile, trying to alleviate some of the tension. _'Wait… tension? Why is there tension anyway? Is it something in the air?'_

Naruto blinked when he realized she hadn't moved from her spot since they began talking. "It's ok Hinata-sama, you don't have to stand so far away." Naruto, while careful never to get _too_ close to the heiress, didn't mind being near her. Five feet was probably appropriate outside of class where they were required to sit closer.

She nodded slowly and approached him, stopped a few feet from him, knowing he would only step back if she got too close. "S-so this is an e-extra test for you to g-graduate this year?"

"Yeah, I had to grab this scroll from the Hokage tower and bring it here undetected. Now I'm just waiting on Mizuki-sensei."

Hinata perked up at that, a thought running through her head. "W-wait, y-you took that f-from the tower?"

"Yup! It was kinda easy actually."

Suddenly Hinata became panicked again. "N-Naruto, before I f-followed you out, t-the whole village was in a-an uproar that something was s-stolen!"

Naruto looked at her surprised, but then smiled at her. "I guess they weren't expecting me to do it huh? But they made it super easy too, so they can't blame me."

"N-no, I mean, I think you s-stole s-something very v-valuable from the tower, something you shouldn't have!" She seemed to be quite fearful now, though whether for her safety or his own he didn't know.

Naruto looked kind of nervous now. "B-but this is the scroll Mizuki-sensei told me to get, I followed his instructions exactly! This _is_ the scroll he told me to get."

"How right you are Naruto-chan," a familiar voice spoke up from above them. They both looked up to see Mizuki leaning against the trunk of a tree, his arms folded over his chest. His mouth was turned upward in a smirk. Both children looked at him with strange eyes, both confused and relieved at the same time. "Naruto, I'm disappointed in you; stealing the sacred Forbidden Scroll from the Hokage… It's made you an enemy to the village you know? They're all frantically searching the entire city for you." He skipped off the branch he was standing on and landed softly on the ground, the twin shuriken on his back clanking as they shifted. He re-crossed his arms and looked at the two genin.

"And Hinata, just because you become an adult once you become a ninja doesn't mean you should just _do it_ with any guy… especially with _this_ guy," he said with a sneer. "Your father would be so disappointed if he found out."

Hinata seemed to understand the implications of his words and looked at him frantically. "W-w-wait S-sensei! W-we weren't d-doing a-anything!"

"Ehhh… that's what they all say. And since you're with that _thing,_ you're going to be charged just as guilty as he is when he's brought back to Konoha."

"W-what do you mean, 'that thing'? Besides, you told me that I needed to find this scroll in order to pass!" Naruto shouted, obviously angry at the insult.

"Naruto!"

All three of them turned to the newcomer as he stood panting beside the shack. "Don't let Mizuki have the scroll!"

"Ohh? What do you mean by that? Why shouldn't they give me the scroll?" Mizuki asked feigning innocence.

Iruka wasn't fooled by it a bit. "Don't bother with the tricks Mizuki. I heard that entire conversation! You set Naruto up to take the fall for your theft!"

Mizuki heaved out a chuckle and nodded. "Well ya got me there. Sure, I had Naruto steal the scroll and come here. But after all, what difference does it make if he takes the fall or not? After all…" Mizuki lowered his head and glared at Iruka with knowing, expectant eyes. "…he's the one who killed your parents."

Iruka grit his teeth. He just _had_ to bring that up.

"K-k-k-killed? H-h-hold on a second, I haven't killed a-anyone before!" Naruto said in a rush as he held his hands up in front of his face. Hinata gasped at Mizuki's words and shook her head back and forth, not wanting to believe that was true. But Iruka didn't look surprised at the accusation… what did that mean?

Mizuki looked back to Naruto with an amused smile. "Oh that's right. You wouldn't know. But I'll be a helpful teacher one last time and tell you the truth."

Iruka's eyes widened and he turned to his old friend. "No, don't Mizuki!"

He paid no heed. "Twelve years ago… You know about the Demon Fox being sealed right?"

Naruto looked surprised. "S-sure, everyone knows about that."

Mizuki continued, "Since that incident, a new rule was created for the village."

Naruto's eyes were wide with curiosity. "…a rule…?"

"But Naruto, this rule was never meant to be told to _you_."

"What? Why not to me?" Naruto demanded of his senior. Mizuki's foreboding laughter filled the clearing immediately after. Both children were suddenly filled with a sense of dread. "W-what…. kind of rule is it?"

Mizuki looked Naruto dead in the eyes with a malicious glare. "A rule that states _no one_ is allowed to talk about the fact that _you_ are the Kyuubi no Yoko!"

Naruto's eyes widened and he took a step back in surprise, tripping over himself in the process. "W-what do you mean?" he asked in fear.

"No Mizuki, DON'T!" Iruka shouted to no avail.

"It means that you are the nine tailed demon that killed Iruka's parents and destroyed the village! You were sealed up by the Hokage you admire so much and-…"

"STOP IT!"

"…-you've been lied to by everyone!" Mizuki said, ignoring Iruka's pleading cries and doing his best to instill fear into the poor thirteen year old. He pulled a giant shuriken from his back and began spinning it wildly in his hand. "No one will ever accept you!" He lunged forward and threw it, sending it spiraling toward Naruto and Hinata, with neither having the clarity of mind to move. Naruto immediately pushed Hinata out of the way, but doing so left him completely open to the incoming projectile. He closed his eyes and winced in pain as he was thrown to the ground. The sound of metal piercing flesh burst through the clearing. But there was no pain. Naruto hesitantly opened his eyes to see Iruka bent over him, blood dripping from his mouth and hitting Naruto's cheek.

Naruto looked at him in astonishment and of all the things that were speeding through his mid at whirlwind speeds, the only thing he could ask was, "…why?"

Iruka looked at him with tears forming in his eyes. "My… my parents… after they died… there was nobody to compliment me or acknowledge me… I was so sad. I would always act like an idiot to get people's attention, since I wasn't able to do well in things like school and get attention that way. It was better than being nothing, so kept on acting like a goof. …It was so painful." Tears fell freely from his eyes as he looked at Naruto with a new understanding. "Yeah… Naruto, you must have been in a lot of pain too. I'm sorry Naruto. If I had done a better job, you wouldn't have had to feel like this."

Mizuki looked at the scene with slight disdain. _'Why couldn't he just let the brat die? Makes my job so much harder.'_ He pulled out his second shuriken and approached them. Naruto saw this and scrambled out from underneath Iruka, drawing his small sword. His eyes were wide and spoke volumes of his fear and confusion.

'_I don't know who to trust… I don't know who to obey… I don't know who to protect!'_

Mizuki could see these thoughts as though they were written in the air. _'He's shaky and unsure. Still, I shouldn't take any risks with him.'_ His eyes focused past Naruto and narrowed. _'That'll work.'_

"Hey Naruto!" He brought his arm back, winding up or the throw.

Naruto blinked out of his thoughts.

"Catch!" He slung his arm forward like a rocket and the spinning blade shot toward him. But something was noticeably off. Naruto may not have been super smart, but he knew how to throw a shuriken, an something didn't seem right with how Mizuki threw that one. Naruto knew when to let go of the projectile to make it hit where you want it to. But Mizuki seemed to hold on to it a half-second too long for it to hit him. The blonde smirked. _'Ha! That's going to fly right past-…'_ He looked behind him to where the shuriken was going to hit. His eyes widened in sudden terror.

He was never Mizuki's target. Hinata was.

She sat defenseless on the ground where she'd been thrown earlier; a mere bystander in someone else's game. He immediately knew what he needed to do. Without thinking he leapt to the side just in time to catch the massive shuriken full in the chest. He cried out in pain as the force of the impact sent him hurtling backwards landing directly in front of Hinata. Hinata, for her part, could only stare with wide eyes as the scene unfolded before her. Not only was Mizuki's revelation about Naruto a shock to hear, but The sudden surprise that she was his target and the knowledge that she had nothing to defend herself with, nor the footing to avoid it made her freeze up; her muscles refused to move. Even more so now. Naruto lay at her feet, a bloody instrument of death buried deep in his chest, blood spilling from it and his mouth. His eyes were wide with shock, and his breathing was already labored and raspy.

She unexpectedly broke out of her trance when she realized Naruto was so severely hurt. "Naruto, Naruto! Can you hear me?" She cried out as she leaned over him. He didn't move, but she could have sworn his eyes moved ever so slightly in her direction.

"Mizukiii!" Mizuki's eyes were diverted from the dying blonde to the enraged chunin flying toward him kunai in hand. He grit his teeth in annoyance; this would be more difficult than fighting kids. _'I'll have to end this quickly.'_ Pulling out his own kunai, he met his former best friend's charge head on.

While he was distracted, Hinata looked around for something to help him when her gaze settled on the shuriken embedded in him. She reach down and with both hands, gripped the hollow middle and pulled. With a grunt, and a= bloody squirt, the weapon came free and clattered to the ground. "Naruto, Naruto! Say something!" Tears began to well up in her eyes as his chest heaved and shuddered with every breath.

The salty streams of water now poured freely from her eyes, landing on Naruto's face with light *plips*. But Naruto's mind was no longer in the world of the living.

* * *

Naruto woke up to the sound of water dripping on the ground. He opened his eyes to a rusted ceiling. "Huh…?" He sat up slowly, grunting with effort. His chest burned for some reason, and he rubbed it, trying to sooth away the pain. He looked around. The damp ground, dim golden light and narrow hallways reminded Naruto somewhat of a sewer. He stood, his cloths dripping away what they soaked up, but oddly he didn't feel wet.

"Where am I?" His voice echoed through the empty halls. Looking around, and letting curiosity take control, he began walking through the dark corridors. He passed by many bleak side passages but ignored them, feeling a sort of calling to the straight and narrow path he was on. After several minutes he came to the end of the hall. At the end was a half completed wall, either in the process of being torn down or being built. From the mess, he assumed it was being torn down.

Then the world shuddered, like an earthquake. He braced himself on the wall until the shaking subsided. "What was that? An earthquake in a dream? But that seemed way too real…" He looked to the opening in the wall ahead of him and noticed a few more stones had fallen. He hesitantly stepped inside.

Darkness engulfed him. It was pitch black, so much so that he couldn't see his hand in front of his face. But he could hear perfectly. Every step he took made a splashing sound, like light raindrops on the ground, and with each sound, he could have sworn he felt something wet hit his face, but every time he reached up to wipe it away, it wasn't there. _'This is the weirdest dream I've _ever_ had.'_

He took one more step…

…And was instantly blinded by light. He reached up to shield his eyes from the sunlight that beamed down on him. He quickly shook his head to clear it even as he winced at the brightness. Slowly his eyes adjusted and he lowered his arms back down to his sides. Now that he could see, his surroundings took on a familiar appearance, but he couldn't quite place it. It was a forest, and in the middle was a small clearing with a large stone dead center. He walked toward it.

"Where am I?" He asked himself. He wasn't expecting an answer.

"Your mind."

He spun so quick he might've gotten whiplash. He looked just in time to see the fleeting form of… _something._ "Who's there?"

Again the hissing voice replied. "Nobody here but just usselves."

Naruto's eyebrows furrowed as he slowly backed into the clearing. "Who are you? Just answer me!"

Another shift in the shadows did not escape his sight. "Oh if _only_ I could tell you my name… Ah well, we can all dream, right?" The voice echoed around the clearing, even though there was nothing for the sound to reverberate on.

"So this _is_ a dream," Naruto half-asked, half-decided.

"Sure, it's a dream…" A streak of light shot from the shadows of the trees and impaled Naruto in the chest, sending him flying back into the stone. Naruto's gurgled cry of pain came out quiet. Odd, he could feel the wet drops on his skin again. "…and it's the most realistic dream you're ever gonna have!"

Naruto looked down at his chest with wide eyes. It was a blade, a long one that stretched all the way back to the side of a tree. Naruto could now see the shadowed figure unmoving, staring at him. It stepped out of the darkness and into the light.

It had a straw hat over its head, which was bent over hiding his face from view. But its mouth was visible, and it was _not_ a human's. It had large fangs and a hissing tongue. It wore a tan kimono-like outfit but with metal shards poking through it at random, but symmetrical angles, mainly along the shoulders and forearms. But the Kimono look ended at its waist; he wore heavy pants with toeless shoes, similar to those every ninja wore. Its entire skin shade was crystal grey and had faint awkward lines carved through it like massive scales. Its right arm was extended toward him and from the sleeve was the blade that stabbed him.

"That wound in your breast is symbolic, but also real; a widening hole that will eventually kill you. In fact, it's what's kill you now actually. "

Naruto grit his teeth as he eyed the character. "Who are you?"

The figure let out an amused laugh. "This is your mind and soul boy. Ida thought you'd remember at least some of the lessons Gin taught, or did you forget him too?"

Naruto immediately growled, the pain in his chest vanishing, replaced with anger. "There's no way I could forget about nii-san!"

The figure laughed again. "Man, riling you up is awesome! Unfortunately…" its grin dimmed to a serious frown. "…this world… your mind is dying." It retracted the sword from Naruto's chest and it disappeared within his sleeve. Naruto recoiled in pain and placed a hand to his bloody chest, feeling it slick his palms. He looked up to the man and blinked. Had the light suddenly dimmed? He looked up to the sky and noticed the sun was nonexistent; in its place was a grey cloud cover. He looked back down to the figure only to notice the trees around them aging; their leaves falling to the ground and crumbling before his very eyes.

All hostility placed aside in favor of fear, Naruto looked to the figure for an answer. "W-wait, why is this happening?"

"You're dying Naruto. Your body is dying and your mind fading. This is the result."

"N-no way… I can't die… I can't die like this!" Narutro said, suddenly terrified. He vaguely remembered dying the last time when he was young, and it didn't bring back any pleasant memories.

"To live, one needs a goal. A reason. You don't have that."

"Then give me a reason! Give me _something!_" Naruto screamed as the trees began snapping under their own weight and crumbling to the ground, millions of insects escaping from their dying homes.

"The reason is right in front of you."

Naruto blinked incredulously at the man. This was no time for riddles! And that annoying pitter-pater on his face was driving him crazy!

The figure smiled again as the thought entered Naruto's mind. _'The droplets… What are they?'_

"Such a sad sound… and from such an angelic creature." The figure closed his eyes and stared at the darkening sky.

"Sound? What-?" Then he heard it. The quiet sobbing of a distraught girl. "Wait… someone's crying for me?" Naruto too looked to the sky as if for an answer. It came to him in the form of streaming sound and images. "N-Naruto… P-please don't d-die... "

"Isn't that… Hinata?"

"I-I'll be l-lonely if you-… P-p-please don't go Naruto!" Naruto's eyes were wide as he listened, his decaying mind forgotten in the sound's wake. "I-if th-there was any-, anything I w-wish I could t-tell you, (hic) it would be t-to n-not be so s-serious a-around me… To j-just be y-yourself…"

Naruto listened with glistening eyes. "I-I w-wanted to get to k-know you a bit b-better if we b-both grad-, graduated… I-I was e-even going to ask f-father i-if he could try and have u-us put on the same t-team."

Naruto listened to all of this with tears brimming in his eyes. "I… I can't die like this. It'll only leave sadness."

"Then live."

"But I don't have the power to live! If you're inside my head then you should know that!" Naruto yelled at the reptile-like character.

"I know you don't. But _I_ do," it said in a wicked grin.

Naruto looked at it curiously, but no less frantically. "What do you mean? How can you have the power to save me?"

The figure smiled mysteriously but didn't answer. Instead he continued as if Naruto's last sentence wasn't even uttered. "If you want, you can use my power. All you gotta do…" he extended his hand toward Naruto, offering it for Naruto to take. "…is say my name."

Naruto looked at the figure strangely, but slowly extended his own hand too. When their hands joined, Naruto could feel the slick cool texture of the figure's skin.

"Oh, one quick question before this world completely dies." The figure added quickly. "If I'm going to give you my power, I kinda want to know what you're going to do with it."

Naruto looked incredulously at him. He didn't have time for questions like that! Already the grass beneath their feet had rotted away, replaced by fissuring earth. He looked at it, and then back to the figure as if to say they didn't have time. However, the figure simply stared hard at the blonde. "What will you use it for?"

"Can't you just give it to me now and I'll tell you later?" Naruto shouted at the stnrange creature.

It yelled back with equal force. "No! I need to know now!"

Naruto grit his teeth I desperation. He didn't have an answer, not a philosophical answer anyway, which was probably what this thing was looking for. His was a simple answer, but since it was the only one he had at the moment, he had no choice. "Fine! It's to protect!"

"Protect what?"

"Everyone I love, OK? I'll protect every precious person I have with my life!" Naruto screamed as loud as he could, nearly begging the creature to accept it as an answer. Oddly, the creature smiled, raising its head so that Naruto could see its face. It was surprisingly human, with narrow slited eyes. It smiled. "Now THAT'S something I can back. It's a deal." The ground below their very feet began splitting, raising and falling as it severed itself like a tectonic shift.

"There's but one path to the goal you have." It began in a calm voice, slowly escalating. "Remember this, Naruto. Do what is necessary to win; to protect those precious people of yours. Accept what comes after! Strike a fear in your enemies they will never forget! Anyone who stands in your way will die!"

The earth buckled blow them and they both fell into the darkness of the abyss, the noise deafening and the sky black as night.

"Shoot them all dead! My name is-…!" And as Naruto heard the final word, the gentle words of his shy friend echoed clear as a bell in his mind. _"Please don't die… Naruto-kun…"_

* * *

"Guaah!" Iruka slammed headfirst into the shack, breaking through its shabby wood and falling to the ground unconscious. Mizuki sighed in relief. _'Phew… It's a good thing he got in the way of the shuriken earlier or he'd have been much harder to handle. Oh well, that's his own damn fault.'_ He wiped his mouth of a little blood from where Iruka had punched him. It had been fairly easy to fight off the injured chunin barehanded.

Taking a moment to catch his breath he looked back to the dying blonde and the little Hyuuga girl.

As much as he didn't want to kill her (he had nothing against her personally), he couldn't leave witnesses. Sure the village would find out who really stole the scroll but by then he would be safely far away. He sighed and made his way over to the children. Naruto's breath was fading, and his wide open eyes were going dim; his gurgled attempts to breathe sounding out against Hinata's fervent cries for him to live. By the time Mizuki got to them, Naruto's breathing had stopped completely.

'_Good riddance.'_ Mizuki thought with a sneer. "A~h… Looks like he died. Probably a god thing too; he won't have to watch what I'm going to do with you." But Mizuki's threat went unheard as Hinata had only heard the "he died" part.

"N-no… He can't be dead, he just can't!" She wailed as she pulled the bloody boy close to her in a kind of hug.

"Whatever." Mizuki said, rolling his eyes. "If you really care about him that much, then just go to Hell with him!" He kicked the lethal shuriken that had killed Naruto up with his foot and caught it. As soon as it made contact with his hand, it began spinning wildly like a buzz-saw. He raised it up above his head and quickly slashed down with it. Hinata looked up just in time to see it descend upon her, a look of terror washing over her face.

'_Is this how I die? Powerless to stop anything? I… I don't want to die. I don't want to die!'_

(Uprising - MUSE)

"…**-SHINSO!**"

Mizuki's eyes widened incredibly as Naruto's eyes stared at him in rage, the wakizashi in his hand extending at a breakneck speed, aiming directly at his head. He ducked quickly, leaping back for space. As he did so, the sword kept extending and stabbed itself in a tree across the way.

"Tch, playing dead, huh?" Mizuki spat as Naruto sat up, much to the overwhelming surprise and joy of Hinata.

"Lay a hand on her, and I'll kill you. No, I'm gonna kill you anyway!" Naruto shouted as he pulled his sword hand back, retracting the blade just enough to leave the tree and swung it horizontally. "HRAAGGGH!" The blade sung in the air as it moved.

Unfortunately, Mizuki saw it coming and hopped over it easily. What Mizuki had not expected was the force behind the blow, which he saw firsthand as it smashed into the side of a tree, sending splinters of bark everywhere. But Naruto wasn't finished yet. He flipped the blade over and swung the other way, which Mizuki ducked this time.

The leaf chunin saw his opening and rushed the blonde even as his swing slowed to a stop. "I don't know what kind of jutsu this is, but it's not gonna make a fucking difference!"

Naruto's eyes widened as he saw Mizuki coming for him and began retracting the blade again.

He managed to get it to a manageable size just before Mizuki's spinning shuriken swiped at him. He blocked it, barely and swung again, jumping above another slice, only to meet a fist. _'Shit, even with the sword being able to extend, I'm not good enough with it yet!'_ Naruto thought as he stumbled back, trying his best to lead Mizuki away from Hinata, while not trying to make it obvious.

But Naruto was simply under-prepared. Mizuki was still better than he was in close range combat, even though he used giant shuriken. _"Naruto, I've slowed the bleeding in your chest, but not stopped it. Try and end this without bleeding to death would ya?"_

The words trickled into his head, but in such a way that they weren't surprising. It was almost as if Naruto himself thought those words, though they clearly weren't his. But even with Naruto now pressed for time, pure drive to protect and live could not beat skill. Mizuki was winning easily. Well, maybe not _easily_, more like struggling to gain the upper hand and succeeding.

Mizuki swung again, letting the shuriken go this time, surprising Naruto who blocked it, knocking it out of its rotation and watched as it twirled away. But as he did this, Mizuki's knee found its way to his stomach.

Naruto coughed in pain, blood squirting from his mouth. He dropped to his knees holding his sides, coughing up blood as he tried to breathe normally. Mizuki huffed in annoyance and exhaustion.

"Hu…hu… This time… No mistakes," The blue haired chunin mumbled as he pulled out two kunai and raised his hands to slash down, intending to cut Naruto on both sides of his shoulders. "JUST DIE ALREADY YOU STUPID FOX!"

He slashed down, and time stopped for an instant, the image in Naruto's eyes forever burned into his memory.

**(The Pot - Tool)**

"**Hado no Ichi, Sho.**"

There was a blasting force that was heard throughout the forest as Mizuki was slammed harshly into a tree, leaving a human sized dent in it. Both Naruto and Hinata blinked widely in surprise.

"Hey now, dat ain't right…" Their gazes were drawn instantly to the voice deep within the shadows of the forest. His steps were clearly audible, though neither could say they'd heard him prior. Hinata felt relief flow through her small body. _'Thank Kami… help.'_

But her reaction of joy was completely overshadowed by Naruto's sudden disbelief. His eyes were wide and his breath caught in his chest as the silhouette lightened in the growing moonlight. "I-it can't be…"

Hinata looked at Naruto with growing concern. "N-Naruto-kun, w-who is it?"

Naruto's stupefied expression didn't fade. His mouth moved but no words came from it, but after a few seconds of silence, he finally managed it. "G…Gin…?"

'_Silver? What does he mean by that?' _Hinata thought as she looked at the man. When he finally stepped out into the full light of the moon, she understood what he meant, if only a little; the man's hair was completely silver, along with his white haori and black hakama. He stopped a few feet fort of Naruto but faced Mizuki's rising form.

"Finally… Ya show yer true colors after five years."

Mizuki grunted as he stood straight, brushing dust from his shoulders. "Who the hell're you?"

Gin's grin widened grimly. "Aww… Don't 'member me? Think back 'bout five years; outside the village, chasin' a six year ol' kid through the forest."

Mizuki's eyes narrowed as he remembered that very event. "You… how the hell do you know about that?" he growled lowly.

Gin's grin grew more mischievous as the air became stifling heavy. "Whatsamatter? Don'tcha recognize me?" His cloths flared out as if wind was blowing around them, and the air in the entire area became oppressive. Even Naruto who was familiar with Gin's aura found it to be nearly unbearable.

Mizuki's eyes widened as he felt the incredible energy radiating from the silver haired man. "N-no way…! Y-you're the guy who-….?"

Gin didn't answer him but looked askance at his pseudo-son. "Oh, and congrats on getting your Zanpakuto. Never figured you'd get one so early." Naruto instantly swelled with pride and smiled as he gripped the S hilt of his new Zanpakuto. Gin had told him all about them before he left.

"But you suck."

Naruto deadpanned straight to the ground. "You're the one who sucks you jerk!" Naruto replied loudly, pointing at him with his new weapon. He instantly regretted it as he coughed harshly, blood spurting from his chest wound. He fell to his knees hacking, to which Hinata attended to him worriedly.

Gin only laughed at him. "Don't worry, little Naru-kun…" Gin place his hand on his own Zanpakuto and drew it out into the cool moonlight.

"…I'll show you the right way to use Shinso."

Mizuki readied himself at the unspoken threat. Gin merely drew his hand back, "**Ikorose,**" and thrust it forward, "**Shinso.**"

The tip of the blade flashed against the moon, reflecting its shining light two-fold as it fired across the clearing, the ground beneath it rupturing from the force of its extension. Mizuki wisely leapt to the side to dodge as the tree it hit shattered completely, collapsing randomly in his direction. He jumped out of the way only to meet the blade swinging horizontally toward him.

He dropped low to the ground as it passed over him, the wind from it whipping at his clothes. There were many loud crashing sounds as the sword split right through full grown trees, toppling them over like dominos as the blade stretched far into the forest. _'Now's my chance, before he can start a new swing…!' _He spun like a top, launching the shuriken at Gin even while the blade retracted back to its normal size.

With a flourish, Gin flipped in the air stabbing his Zanpakuto into the ground, directly in the middle of the shuriken. He landed with both feet pressed against either side of the hilt, supporting himself even as the shuriken spun around the blade, trapped like a small animal. Gin sat crouched atop his blade, one hand on his knee, and the other propped up on his other knee, pressed against his chin in mock thoughtfulness.

Mizuki stumbled back in shock. _'Shit! This guy's in a completely different league than me!'_ Mizuki eyed the two children. _'If I can just distract him…!'_ He pulled out several kunai and brought them back to throw.

Gin's image fractured and the next instant he was behind the blue haired man, Zanpakuto in hand and his ever impassive face looking behind him.

Mizuki grunted in pain as a deep slash broke open across his chest.

The kunai dropped to the ground, followed by Mizuki himself. Gin touched down without a sound, his Hakama flowing behind him. "Yer back's wide open."

Mizuki lay there, unable to move as his life drained away. _'Gah! Damn it! Why does this guy always interfere? Five years… I wait five damn years! And I still couldn't even-…'_ His life ended before he could finish his thought.

Gin turned back to Naruto, his smile having taken on a kinder tone. "Hey there Naru-kun, how's it goin'?"

Naruto lay on his back, Hinata using torn pieces from her and Naruto's clothes to staunch the bleeding in naruto's chest. A small dribble of red slid down from the corner of his mouth. But even as Hinata tried to wrap him up, he smiled at Gin, annoyed, but also overjoyed.

"Tch, how's it look like it's going? Y'old idiot…"

Gin chuckled at that as he sheathed his blade and bent down over his charge. "It don't look too bad. It's just a stab 'n the heart."

Naruto rolled his eyes but didn't say anything. Gin mentally counted down.

'_Three… two… one…'_

"I WAS STABBED IN THE HEART?" Naruto shouted as he sat up and pressed the cloths to his chest. His eyes were white saucers as he scrambled to find a way to fix it.

"Ya, after all, the heart is actually more t'wards the cent'r o' yer chest than the left side. It's a little known fact."

Naruto's eyes widened in their white saucer state and he fell back, foaming at the mouth. "N-Naruto-kun!"

Gin only laughed at them both. But with Naruto now unconscious, it made everything else considerably easier. He looked at the panicked Hyuuga girl and smiled, reassuringly, at her. "Don't worry 'bout him; he ain't gonna die anytime soon, knowing him. He's fighter, like me." He placed a lanky hand on her shoulder and squeezed gently. She nodded slowly, not sure whether to trust him or not. But he did save them, and Naruto seemed to know him personally, so that was enough for her.

Gin turned back to the only other person in the clearing; someone the children had probably forgotten about by now.

Iruka stirred as he was shaken to life. "Huh…? What happened?"

"Ya got yer ass beat. Can ya stand?"

Iruka nodded at the black and white clad man and steadied himself against the shack wall as he rose, holding his head in pain. He looked over to Mizuki's dead body and sighed. "Looks like a missed the important part. Though he should have been captured and brought back to Konoha for a real trial, but that's just me."

Gin chuckled ironically. "Trust me, if you knew what I know, you'da done the same thing."

Iruka looked at Gin curiously for a second, but decided that for the moment he wouldn't press him. Both walked over toward the two children. Hinata simply sat there, watching Naruto as he rested. Gin bent down and lifted the blonde carefully into his arms, making sure not to disturb the wound too much. Knowing Shinso, it was doing what it could to keep Naruto from bleeding out.

Iruka lifted Hinata to her feet. "So if you don't mind my asking, who are you?" The chunin asked in a friendly tone.

Gin tilted his head back and regarded the brown haired man. "You don't 'member me either? Come on… this place has a serious case o' amnesia."

Iruka looked at him curiously, his brows furrowed in confusion before his face suddenly lit up in realization. "Oh, You! Forgive me, I didn't realize-"

"Don't sweat it kid. You ain't the only one. An' hopefully, you won't be the last either." Gin replied with a friendly slap on the shoulder. Iruka smiled nervously at the man. When he was younger, he remembered that Gin would always pop up around the village with Naruto. Many suspected that he was there to guard the Kyuubi boy, which he _did_ do on several occasions, but no one ever really knew for sure. Iruka himself had had an incident involving the silver haired man. It was a simple bump-in at a local café, but it was enough to insert them both into each other's memories.

Knowing who the man was now, he trusted him enough to let Hinata go with them while he cleaned up here. "Hinata, you go with them, OK?"

She looked at her sensei and nodded. He gave her a small nudge toward the other two and she stepped over to them, Gin looking at her patiently. When she came even with him, he placed a hand on her shoulder. "Hold on tight kid."

She did as instructed and grabbed onto his arm. In a flash of movement all three vanished from the clearing.

* * *

All Hinata felt was a rush of wind and a great feeling of pressure against her. Indeed, she was glad Gin told her to hold on tight; she probably would have fallen off. When the whipping wind ceased and the pressure subsided, she opened her eyes to find, to her amazement, they were outside the hospital. _'S-so fast! It was only a few seconds…!' _

But Gin was already walking to the doors of the building in a not-so-obvious rush. He glanced behind and with a nudge of his head, gestured Hinata to follow. She did so in an abrupt fashion jogging to catch up as Gin opened the doors. The receptionist raised her head to address the new guest and when she did her blood ran cold. Before her stood the same man who had come in so many years ago. His attire had changed, but his demeanor surely hadn't. He still carried the blonde child in his arms, and he still looked at her with that maddening smile.

Without missing a beat she called for a doctor. Gin would have smiled in amusement if he felt like it, but for the most part his current smile was simply a façade to cover his worry. As long as the doctors didn't take long, Naruto would be fine.

A doctor came presently and took a look at Naruto. Deeming it ER quality damage, he guided the two to a surgery room and asked them to remain outside. Several other doctors arrived moments after and shuffled in. They began hooking Naruto up to IVs and tubes to sustain him while they worked. Gin stayed outside with Hinata; there were small windows where they _could_ watch, but Gin trusted the doctors remembered him, judging by their brief surprised looks as they entered the room.

They sat in silence for several minutes before Hinata spoke up. "A-ano… your name's Gin-san, r-right?" Gin gave her a nod.

"D-do you think N-Naruto-kun w-will be O-OK?" She asked, rubbing her feet together anxiously. Gin looked at her for a long moment before his grin became more reassuring and he nodded again. "The kid's a fighter; an besides, he's found a new power to help 'im out. He ain't gonna die anytime soon, that's fer sure."

Hinata seemed to relax, if only a little, at his words. Again there was a brief silence before Hinata spoke up again. "Um… Uh… If y-you don't mind m-my asking, um… Well, I-I w-was kind of w-wondering who you were e-exactly to N-Naruto-kun."

Gin chuckled softly. "Well, to put it simply, I'm his dad."

Hinata's eyes widened and her hands instinctively went partway to her face. She didn't know Naruto even _had_ a father. Well, she knew he did at one point, but she didn't know he was still alive. "Don't get me wrong, we're not related. I've just kind of adopted him."

That Hinata could process easily. _'They don't really look alike anyway, so I guess that makes sense.'_

But before she could press forward with new questions, like why he adopted him and why she hadn't seen him before a new voice called out to her. "Hinata!" She looked in the voice's direction and saw her father down the hall walking briskly towards her. She got up hastily as he approached and bowed to him.

"F-father! W-what are you doing here?" She asked surprised.

He looked at her with those tired fatherly eyes. "I was told someone spotted you here so I came to see if it was true. You're way past curfew young lady!"

Hinata bowed her head in shame and nodded dimly. It was now that Gin rose from his seat, Hiashi taking note of him, a faint sense of recognition trickling into his brain.

"Good to see you again Hiash-san! Been years ain't it?"

Hiashi's eyes lit up as he recognized him. "Oh, Gin-san! It _has_ been years! I'm glad to see you're finally back in the village. What's the occasion?"

Gin rubbed his neck sheepishly. "Finally got away from work. Came back just in time to see Naruto get himself in ta to trouble, again. He's in surgery now. This little one yers?"

Hiashi nodded almost proudly. "Yes, she's my oldest, Hinata."

Gin whistled at the young girl, causing her to blush. "I 'member when she's just a kid."

Hiashi changed the subject by nodding to the doors behind them. "Will he be OK?"

Gin laughed. "Like father like daughter. He'll be right as rain in the mornin'."

Hiashi nodded in understanding. In all honesty, he didn't mind Gin. Gin had understanding of nobility and acted, however eccentrically like one of high authority and carried himself, for the most part, accordingly. He wasn't exactly pleased when he found out that he was also the Kyuubi Jinchūriki's guardian. But he reasoned that it was probably about time someone tried to take care of the boy.

At that moment, the doors opened and the doctors walked out, two leaving down the other hallway and the third coming down towards them. Hiashi made to leave with his daughter but Gin motioned them to stay.

"Ichimaru Gin I presume?" Gin nodded.

"We've managed to stabilize him and seal the bleeding; wasn't too hard because of… You know." The doctor purposefully worded it that way, noting that there was a girl of the boy's age in the room. Had it just been the adults, he wouldn't have bothered concealing it, but as it wasn't, he did. Hinata just assumed it was some medical jargon that she wouldn't understand anyway.

Gin nodded, knowing what he was talking about. The doctor continued, "He's resting now if you want to go in. He'll be moved to a room soon where you'll have to leave him be until the morning when visitors will be allowed. So until he's moved, you can talk to him. For as long as he conscious anyway..."

Gin nodded and the doctor scurried off. The silver haired man turned to the small girl and smiled at her. "If you wanna see him 'fore they close the place, I'd suggest you get in there, if it's ok with yer dad…"

Hinata looked to her father who nodded reluctantly. She smiled and rushed inside. Gin waited until the swinging doors closed complete before turning to Hiashi. "Looks like she's got the hotts for little Naru," he commented offhandedly.

"No offence, but she'd better get over it. The Hyuuga clan doesn't marry outside the family except on rare occasion."

Gin didn't change expression; it was something he'd already assumed. He walked back to the door and pushed it open a crack. Inside he could see Hinata standing next to Naruto who was muttering something to her that Gin couldn't hear. But Hinata seemed happy about it. Both had smiles on their faces as they talked.

"They make a cute couple though," Gin said stepped back from the door, causing Hiashi to quirk and eyebrow. "Are you trying to get me to change my mind?"

Gin smiled at his friend and walked back to him, placing an arm around his shoulder. "I'm gonna guess that those 'rare exceptions' are people with either high status or great power," the silver man said, ignoring Hiashi's accusation for the moment.

The Hyuuga leader almost smirked. "You'd be correct. It's not just me; the Hyuuga elders must also agree to any kind of marriage, let alone even the heiress of the clan."

Gin gave his friend a sly, knowing look. "I didn't say anything about marriage… Hiashi-san," he said with a raised eyebrow. Then in mock shock, he recoiled and placed a hand to his mouth and gasped. "Could it be that you've already thought about 'em bein' together?"

Hiashi sighed and turned his head away slightly, avoiding Gin's childish gaze. "Any quality relationship would end in marriage; it's only natural."

Gin returned his hand to his side and became serious once again. "But you've neglected one important fact, Hiashi-san."

Hiashi gazed at Gin out of the corner of his eye. "And that would be?" He didn't know whether he liked the idea of the Kyuubi Jinchūriki being anywhere close to his daughter; for her safety. But who was he to judge character and intent? Another thing he didn't like was not knowing something.

Gin smirked smugly. "The future Hyuuga successor windin' up with the Kyuubi Jinchūriki. Tell me that doesn't sound temptin'."

Hiashi narrowed his eyes. Thoughts began to spin in his head at this notion. "A tool without a skilled warrior is useless. He would have to be more than _just_ what he is now. Skill, control, finesse… capability. You understand what I mean?"

Gin shrugged. "What difference does it make? A relationship between them would be pointless… Or would it?" he eyed Hiashi suspiciously.

The Hyuga leader looked at the man stoically. "You have just opened a door to something the elders _may in fact_ accept. If it is possible I hope your adopted son is up to the challenge."

"Of learnin'?"

"Of living up to our _expectations._ I'll be honest; I don't like the idea of him, being what he is, to court my daughter. However, it is far too advantageous a proposition to pass up. Of course, it would only have meaning if he becomes a skill shinobi."

Gin laughed disarmingly. "He plans on becomin' Hokage if that says anything."

Hiashi smirked. "So do most children. I can't make any promises or special favors. 'Till next time." He turned to leave when Gin called out to his retreating form.

"You forgot yer daughter."

"She's fine where she is at the moment."

"Plan on using her as an excuse are ya?"

"As a head-start yes; how intuitive of you."

Gin had the decency to _look_ bashful, even though it was clearly exaggerated.

Hiashi smirked at his old acquaintance and left. Truth be told, while he had no bias toward or against the Uzumaki boy, Gin's proposition intrigued him greatly. It would be _extremely_ advantageous to have his daughter and him marry. He would have to consider how to approach it with the elders; they were sure to be skeptical and careful with their decision.

* * *

**A/N: And there's chapter three! It may seem a bit scatter brained and awkward, but everything that isn't explained in this chapter will be explained in the next one. Again, sorry it took so long to finish. I'll try not to make it so long between updates in the future. Hope you liked it!**


	4. Chapter 4: Second Genesis

**A/N: Hello adoring public! From the depths of scholastic institutions returns your all-time favorite author and concept trailblazer, Konerok Hadorak! OH YEAH! I'm finally back! It took me quite a long time to get my muse in working order thanks to school issues and junk like that. Since it's been so long, I really look forward to seeing how much my writing skills **_**haven't **_**degraded. So with that, I leave you to your reading pleasure. Chapter four everybody!**

**My thanks to **marc. BioHazard82, Servent Satsujinki, Zaralann, Orchamus, No- I'm not on facebook, Joey Blaq, Chewie Cookies, Archivist, OBSERVER01, Skelo, Tristan76, reven228, angel61991, narutofan020, Seimeisamarian, Nobody, CminuteByMinute, **and **infinityeternity** for their constructive reviews that helped me get back to writing this story after reading them last week. Luv yall!**

* * *

**Konoha's Silver Shinobi, Chapter 4:**

**Second Genisis**

Naruto woke up slowly, the chirping birds and cool sounds of spring flowing in from an open window beside his bed. He blinked his eyes at the light from outside. The ceiling above him was white, almost sterilizing so. He'd only seen that color ceiling before at the hospital. He sat up groggily, wincing at the pain in his chest. He looked down to see his torso wrapped in white bandages. He fingered them carefully, recalling the events of last night. He'd been stabbed by Mizuki's giant shuriken; that much he remembered. And then…

He recalled, vaguely the event in his own mind that led to him getting his Zanpakuto. A smile came to his face suddenly. He looked around for his belongings and spied a wooden cabinet beside his bed against the wall. He pulled the thin covers off his legs and turned to swing his legs over the side of the bed when his chest gave a sharp warning that he shouldn't do that. A calm female voice told him as much immediately after. "You shouldn't be moving too much yet, you're still healing."

Naruto looked over to see a young female nurse with a clipboard in her hands staring at him with a smile. He averted his own eyes though, age-old distaste for doctors still fresh in his psyche.

"How much longer do I need to be here?" he asked with a _prepared-to-be-disappointed_ tone.

The woman looked at him with gentle eyes. "Oh it won't be too long. Maybe a few days before you can leave."

Naruto didn't respond but looked back at the cabinet. He looked back at the nurse hesitantly. "Is my stuff in there?"

He pointed to the wooden container and the nurse nodded. "Your clothes are being repaired so they aren't here, but your other stuff is."

"Could… Could you see if my sword is in there?" he asked quietly. The nurse nodded jovially and went over and opened it up. After a few seconds of her mumbling sweetly, she withdrew from the cabinet and frowned. "Hmm… I could have sworn we put the sword in here… Sorry, but it doesn't seem to be here. They may have put it in a safety box downstairs."

Naruto looked down disappointedly. But his disappointment turned to surprise when out of the corner of his eye he saw something sitting right beside him under his covers. "Oh… Here it is…" He said bashfully, somewhat embarrassed that he hadn't noticed sooner. He picked it up and withdrew it from his sheets.

The nurse smiled at his happily. "Ah! Well there you go! All happy now? Anything I can get you?" she said cheerfully.

Naruto deftly shook his head, not looking at her but at his sword. "Alright then! Have a pleasant day!" She said in a chipper tone and walked out closing the door behind her.

Naruto didn't buy her façade one second, and it was immediately confirmed once the door was shut and her happy lying face dropped and he heard a muffled, "Shit, if I have to do that for him again I think I'm gonna break one of his limbs," followed by an immediate shush from someone else.

Naruto shook his head. _'Of course they wouldn't act that way honestly.'_ He looked down at his blade as he rested it in his lap. He stared at it for quite a while, a blank look on his face. In all honesty, he wasn't sure what to do now. _'I wish Iruka-sensei was here... or even-…'_ His eyes flashed open as a voice suddenly ran through his brain. _"…you suck!" _

The words struck him hard in the face as the voice was undoubtedly that of his adopted father. _'Tou-san's back!' _He wanted to scream it out with excitement. As he looked around his room with renewed energy, he wondered where his dad was. But then Naruto realized it was still early in the morning, and visitors wouldn't be allowed in yet. It would be the longest two hours of his life until then; he was sure of it.

* * *

_Gin stood far away from the action, as it was the wisest thing he knew to do at the moment. With Aizen and Ichigo fighting in such advanced forms… he didn't want to get caught up in that. He was lucky enough that he'd been able to deceive Aizen into thinking he'd killed him. If it had been any other time, Gin would have gladly died for the cause of killing Aizen. But… _

'But I got someone I jus' can't leave behind.'_ He thought silently. The little blond haired boy that he'd managed to guide on the right path and protect was waiting for him. It would be unfair to do less than everything he could to win, of if he lost, to escape. _

_He watched the torrent of energies clash and explode. Ichigo surely achieved a great power; power that put him on even a greater level than Aizen could have dreamed of being on. There was no need to watch to the end. He turned quietly and opened a Senkai gate, stepping through it silently. Inside the now empty Precipice World, the walls moved and rolled around lazily. Gin's steps were the only sound aside from his breathing that could be heard. _

_His tattered cloak waved behind him as he walked. He'd almost had him too. If it weren't for those dang power-ups Aizen would be dead. It was only thanks to the Hougokyu that he even survived. In retrospect, he probably shouldn't have been surprised. Aizen was… well, Aizen. It was regrettable that he didn't succeed but it couldn't be helped. Not that it mattered to him anymore either. He finally had his chance to get away. Aizen thought he was dead, as did the rest of the Soul Society. After all, he'd had plenty of time to work on creating his body double from a fake body. Using what he could, he created a perfect mod-soul that would act like him exactly. And the best part was that if it were to perish, it would vaporize itself, leaving no trace of its existence wthin the body. _

_It was the perfect way to fake his death, and that was all he needed._

_As he traveled down the Dangai, he kept his eyes peeled. He wasn't worried about the Senkaimon chasing him down thanks to Aizen. No, he was looking for something far more important, and secret, than anything else: He was looking for a certain patch of wall. That certain patch of wall hid something that none of Seireitei could have ever imagined. _

_The gateway to another world. _

_Gin was the only one who knew. He'd discovered it nearly ten years years prior, but when he left that world it had taken him years to rediscover it. And when he did… Well, you know the rest. _

_It took careful looking to find it, and find it he did. "Right where I left ya." It was a narrow slit in the wall where a small beam of light shone through. He bent over to look through it. Inside was the pale blue orb of the moon. It must've been night time in there. The trick about getting into that world was that the slit was far too small to fit even your hand through. The only thing that could possibly fit was a Zanpakuto. He drew his blade and carefully positioned it in the slot, being sure not to touch the reiatsu sensing walls surrounding it. When the blade was in to the hilt, he activated his shikai, extending the blade to its max. It took some time before he felt the turbulent energies inside that small hole grab hold of his blade and pull him through, warping his body through the miniscule hole and through to the secret world._

_Gin was the only one who could get here. Only his Shinso could reach the maelstrom of power that would suck you through. _

'I'm the only one who knows this place even exists,' He thought with assurance. 'Suits me perfectly.'

* * *

Who would have thought that that very moment was when his son needed his help the most. As much as he believed Naruto was strong, Gin knew he was no match for a real ninja like that Mizuki fellow. He'd also managed to spread quite a few rumors about himself. By this time, the village was probably teeming with stories that he'd returned. Even as he looked at the village through the large panoramic windows, he could almost feel the atmosphere lowly change.

"I'm glad you returned when you did Ichimaru-san," said the Sandaime joyfully. "You saved three lives last night, including that of a valuable soldier of Konoha. For that, I think I can grant your request." He smiled as he pulled out a pen and wrote his signature on the dotted line.

Gin stood before the Hokage with two ANBU on either side of the room leaning up against the wall. Hiruzen allowed them to come out of hiding, more to put Gin at ease than anything. Gin stood in his tattered white robes, the sleeves torn clean off from his earlier two battles with Ichigo and Aizen. He'd told the old Hokage what he could about Soul Society and the secrecy of their world, and how he got here when they'd first met years ago.

Gin had actually been surprised by how long he'd been gone. It had only been a month or two to him, but here it had been nearly half a decade. This had put him in quite the mood, though no one would notice. _'I told him I'd be back soon, and to me I did. But to him…'_ It had been nearly six years since he'd left in this world. Did Naruto ever forget about him? How much did he miss in the boy's life?

His emotions were a torrent of swirling thoughts and feelings under a calm façade of impassiveness. His permanent smile stretched across his face. He'd just finished debriefing the Hokage on where he'd been and what had happened to him while he was gone. Naturally he'd told the Hogake who and what he was those several months/years ago. It was the only way he could get protective custody of Naruto with the Hokage's consent. Of course there were several key facts that Gin had mentioned that cemented his story as fact as far as Hiruzen was concerned.

As Sarutobi wrote down on the paper in front of him, Gin's smiling face slowly dimmed to a frown. "Say… Sarutobi-han…"

The aged man looked up from his text.

"How… How's Naruto been these past few years?" His voice was soft and filled with concern. In truth, he wondered how Naruto felt about him now, being gone for several years, rather than the month or two Gin had planned.

Hiruzen folded his hands in front of him and smiled reassuringly at the silver haired man. "If you're worried about Naruto's love for you, you needn't worry. Naruto has never once lost faith in you. Every day he eagerly awaited your return. I'd often see him sitting on top of the front gates watching travelers go to and fro, hoping to see you walk through them. He's always believed you'd come back, even though it's been years."

Gin half smiled. "That's good ta hear." The words were hollow in comparison to how he actually felt; elated. But then came the more important question. "How's the village been treatin' him?"

Hiruzen sighed and rubbed his face. "Decently, if you can call the respect they give him decent. They no longer outright abhor him anymore; its more secretive. Thanks to the scroll you gave him before you left requiring shops to allow him service, he's been able to fend for himself fairly well. Still, there is the occasional problem. Last night not being the least of them."

"I see." Gin's smile had slowly dropped to form a thin line across his face and was slowly degenerating into a frown of disappointment directed mainly at the village folk.

"Since the papers are signed, I can go ahead and give you this. I always keep a few in one of these drawers just in case…" The old Hokage reached down and opened a drawer and pulled out a shining metal object and handed it to Gin. "Glad to have you back Gin-kun."

Gin's smile returned as he looked at the object he'd been given. "Thanks a bunch. Anythin' I should know regardin' dress code or stuff like that?"

The old man shook his head. "No, it's pretty much your choice, but probably something 'along the lines' would be fine."

Gin nodded and gave a mock salute, "Rog'r that." With that he turned and left the office.

Hiruzen smiled, genuinely, for the first time in a long time. It was the return of something good in Naruto's life. _'About damn time too.'_

* * *

Naruto watched the clock tick by. Ten o'clock could not come any slower, he was sure of it. It was the longest twenty minutes he'd ever experienced. So many things were running through his mind, not the least of which was what questions he was going to ask Gin when he arrived. There were so many things… he didn't know where to begin! Of course there were many questions that came to mind that saddened him when he thought about them, but he noted them and filed them away for later.

Naruto took a deep breath and let it out in an extended huff. "How much longer do I have to wait?" He didn't ask it to anyone in particular, so it was only natural his eyes shot open when a familiar voice responded.

"Soon'r than ya think, an later then ya wish." Naruto's head whipped to the side with lightning speed as his precious father pushed the door open and stepped inside.

Naruto's eyes lit up like a light. "Tou-san!" With a surge of energy, he leapt out of the bed and leapt at gin, wrapping his arms around the silver haired man. Gin let out an "oof" as Naruto impacted his midsection, and smiled as he wrapped his arms around him. "Hey there lil' buddy," Gin laughed out affectionately as he squeezed the boy against him. Naruto sniffled in happiness. Finally, the only person Naruto could ever call his best friend was back.

"Tou-san… Tou-san… I'm so glad you're back!"

"Yeah…" Gin said softly to the sobbing Naruto in the tone he reserved for the blonde boy only. "Me too. I bet you have some questions, right?"

Naruto let go of him and nodded, wiping away his tears bashfully. With guiding arms, Gin lead him back to the bed and had Naruto lay back down on it. "Ask away, I'm all yers."

Naruto was silent for several seconds before he mustered up the strength to say it. "What took you so long?"

Gin took the next ten minutes explaining what he'd told the Hokage about how the time in both worlds. Naruto seemed to grab the gist of it, which Gin as thankful for. Naruto was smart where it counted unlike those who know everything you _don't_ need in life.

"Any other questions?"

Naruto shook his head and smiled. "Nope, that's it! I guess that's really the only thing I wanted to know, hehe!" Naruto rubbed the back of his head and gave a fox-like, ear-to-ear grin. True he had planned on asking other questions, but as soon as he found out why Gin had been gone for so long, everything else seemed so incredibly unimportant. _'I guess that's really all I wanted to know.'_

"Well, in tha' case, I've got a couple questions for you," Gin said from his seat beside his son.

Naruto gave a nod and Gin began. "First 'f all, how's life been fer ya since I've been gone?"

Naruto gave a shrug. "It's been ok. I'm still a second, well, probably third class citizen as far as they're concerned, but I've managed."

Gin expected something like that, based on what the Hokage said, and what he already knew about the village. But he'd make sure to change that as much as was in his power.

"So I don't s'ppose you've had any girlfriends while I've been gone, huh?"

Naruto blushed at the sudden suggestion and he turned his head away in embarrassment. "O-Of course not! I haven't had time for one between training!"

Gin laughed a bit before stopping abruptly and adorning a thinking expression. "Then how come you were wit that girl last night? Tryin' to get in some 'extracurricular activates' wit her?"

Naruto turned to the Shinigami and screamed at him, his face still beat red from the insinuation, "What kind of father are you? I'm way too young for that stuff!"

"I'm just asking a question."

"You're saying you support it!"

"I didn't say that."

"Yes you did, it was indirect!"

Gin smiled as Naruto's comical rage, even as he crossed his arms and looked away in embarrassment. "Well, in any case, regarding that girl, I approve."

He expected Naruto to explode again, so he was surprised when the boy relaxed and leaned back in his bed. "It doesn't matter anyway. Something like that couldn't happen between us…" he sulked as he closed his eyes, his voice filled with resignation.

Gin was silent for a moment before he spoke up. "So ya really do like 'er, deep down."

Naruto was quiet for a moment before he responded as he did before. "Like I said, it doesn't matter. She's the successor to a noble family, I'm nobody: I've got no standings, no royal blood, no achievements, nothing!" Naruto was yelling by the end of it. He sighed deeply, letting the anger out.

'_Not anger, frustration,'_ Gin realized.

"Besides, even if I wanted to… even if _SHE_ wanted to, her family would never let me get anywhere close to her. Hell, they already do that."

Gin recognized the despondency in Naruto's voice. He truly thought there was no way he could have her. Then again, he didn't know what he and Hiashi had spoken of last night. That, and…

"Well if that's true…" Gin said standing up, Naruto looking at him curiously. A few steps later (which Naruto barely noticed were completely silent) he was at the door, one hand on the handle and the other hand raised with his index finger to his lips. With a tug, the door opened inward and to Naruto's total astonishment, Hinata Hyuuga fell forward with an "eep" from where she'd had her ear pressed to the door. "…then why would she be here?"

"Hinata?"

Hinata picked herself up off the ground, blushing in embarrassment that she'd been caught eaves-dropping. She stood up, nervously rubbing her index fingers round each other. "G-good morning N-N-Naruto-san."

"Hinata-sama, what are you doing here?" he asked, rising nearly to his knees from his position.

Hinata was silent to his question, trying to think of how to word her response appropriately. Gin gave her a break and answered for her. "She came ta see you, moron"

Naruto looked at Hinata as if questioning whether that was the truth or not. Hinata didn't answer verbally, but gave a nod.

"W-Why? Your family will be enraged if they find out!"

Gin gave a little laugh and rubbed the back of his neck in mock sheepishness. "Haha, weeell, I might have ta disagree wit that one. See, me an' Hiashi-san had a little chat 'bout you two. I managed to convince 'im that a relationship between you two could be a good thing, so he's willing to give it a shot."

Naruto looked absolutely incredulous. Gin had really talked to Hinata's father, and got him to agree to let him and Hinata be, not just friends, but _more than_ friends? Such a reality was almost too impossible for him to understand.

Hinata likewise was amazed. Why hadn't father told her? _'Wait, father did suggest that I visit Naruto this morning. But he said it was because it was proper etiquette to properly thank those who save our lives.'_

"It was yer dad's idea right," Gin asked the silent Hyuuga, "to visit Naruto this morning."

Hinata nodded hesitantly.

"Prob'ly said it was to thank yer savior or somthin'?"

Again she nodded. Gin just nodded satsifactorily.

Hinata gazed at the man in admiration and astonishment. She realized this man must have known her father very well to predict something like that. She knew they knew each other long ago from the night before, but she wouldn't have guessed they knew each other that well. Gin was either very likable, or very perceptive to assume that her father said that. Whichever it was, she would never know.

"Well, I'll let you two go fer now, I'll be back for lunch Naruto." And without leaving any room for Naruto or Hinata's protest, he zipped away, letting the door click shut behind him.

The two teens were left in an awkward silence as neither knew what to say. _'Damn you Gin, taking the initiative like that! I'm not even ready for that kind of relationship with her!' _he thought in frustration with his adopted father.

"Hinata-sama, I swear I had nothing to do with this," he insisted as he waved his hands in front of him.

Hinata just sat next to him on the char Gin had occupied a minute before. "Naruto-san, I… I don't think y-your father w-would lie to u-us about s-something this s-serious. I-if my father said it was ok, t-then it p-probably is. Besides…" she blushed heavily and looked away from her crush. "I… I've a-always w-wanted s-something like t-this…"

Naruto looked at her strangely, before turning away from her as well. "Hinata-sama, I'm not sure if I'm ready for… I mean, I'd never expected I'd be able… I-"

"I-its ok Naruto-san," she said suddenly cutting him off. She gave a frail, reassuring smile as she looked back towards him. "We can… t-take things s-slow. We could g-get to k-know e-each other like we couldn't b-before."

Naruto gave her a surprised looked. A notion hit him that he hadn't expected he'd ever think. _'Maybe… maybe she's wanted this for a while now. Have I really been too stupid to notice?'_ Naruto mentally berated himself, giving arguments and counter arguments regarding why he hadn't noticed, or if he had noticed why he ignored the signs. He was broken from his thoughts when he spied a piece of paper on the side of his bed he hadn't seen before. He picked it up and unfolded it. Inside was written only two words. One was "-SAMA" with and "X" through it, and the other was "-CHAN" with a circle around it and arrows pointing to it from all directions. At the bottom right of the page was a tiny hand-drawn picture of Gin's head, creepy smile and all.

'_Damn you again!'_ Naruto railed mentally.

"I-Is something wrong, N-Naruto-san?"

"O-Oh, it's nothing, really," Naruto gave her an awkward smiled and rubbed his neck, tossing the paper to his bed stand. When he did so, another paper fell out of it and to the floor, where Hinata picked it up. Naruto didn't notice it though. When she looked at it, her face pinked ever so slightly.

"What's that Hinata…-san?" Naruto asked, mumbling out "san" and hoped it sounded like "sama." It would take him a while before he could get used to adding "chan" to her name.

Her response was to flip the paper around and show him what it was. On it was "-SAN" crossed out and "-KUN" with a circle. As before, it had Gin's chibi-face at the bottom right, and as an added feature it had a thumbs-up too.

Naruto ground his teeth and one eyes twitched unconsciously. _'Damn it Gin! I'm gonna kill you!'_

Gin stood outside the door smiling, knowing his little notes had been found and read. With that taken care off, he had other things to do before lunch. As he walked away, he wondered whether he was pushing them to fast into a relationship. Then he shook his head. _'Naaah, I j'st open th' door, the speed they walk through is up ta them.'_ And with that self-reassuring thought he left the hospital, leaving his son and possibly future daughter to mingle. He had someplace to be.

* * *

Hiruzen heard a knock on his door to which he responded with a "come in." The door opened to reveal both Kurenai Yuhi and Kakashi Hatake. They walked in, closing the door softly behind them. "Ah, good of you two to make it. I have something to discuss with you both," he said as he put down one folder and pulled out another.

"What is it Hokage-sama?" Kurenai asked simply.

"It pertains to your team assignments," he said as he opened the folders in front of him. "Kurenai, I believe your team was to be Inuzuka Kiba, Aburame Shino, and Hyuuga Hinata, correct?"

"Yes, that was my assignment."

"And you Kakashi, you were to train Haruno Sakura, Uchiha Sasuke, and Uzumai Naruto, correct?"

"Hai, Hokage-sama."

The old man nodded and fiddled with the file in his hands. "There's going to be a slight change in assignments."

Both Kakashi and Kurenai looked at him in surprise. "What kind of change?"

Sarutobi pulled out a second file and took some papers from it and put it in the second folder, and conversely took papers from the second and put it in the first. "Firstly, Kurenai, instead of Hyuuga Hinata, Haruno Sakura will be assigned to your team."

Kurenai furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. "I was told that I would be given students who had the potential to function as a recon group. As far as I'm aware, Sakura has no innate sensory abilities like Hinata."

"I realized that, but I believe that she has the capacity to learn genjutsu, and who better to teach her than you? Even so, as a genjutsu user, she could learn from her other two teammates how to use sensory skills. Genjutsu users tend to have at least a small capability to sense others."

Kurenai folded her arms over her chest to think about the pros and cons. Letting her do so, Sarutobi turned to Kakashi who despite had his face in that book again was still very capable of multitasking, i.e. talking, listening and reading at the same time. Not that Sarutobi could judge him; he had that very same book in the top left drawer if his desk. "Obviously this is a trade, so Hinata will be placed on your team."

"Sound simple enough. I couldn't teach many of my genjutsu to Sakura since they revolve mostly around this little guy here." He tapped his covered left eye, indicating his Sharingan. "But I'm pretty good at taijutsu, even if it's not Jyuuken, so I may be able to teach her."

Kurenai spoke up again. "So this is more a switch for the better ability to train them as opposed to a change regarding their personalities or grades?"

"Essentially yes. Is this agreeable?"

Kurenai put a finger to her chin and thought. At last she nodded and held out a hand. "I suppose this is ok. I'll need Haruno-san's file so I can know what to expect."

Sarutobi closed the first file and handed it to her. "If you have no complaints, then you can go about your preparations."

Both of them nodded and bowed. Kakashi, like the gentleman he was, let Kurenai go first through the door as he held it open and was about to walk through himself when the Hokage stopped him. "Just a moment Kakashi. I have something more to discuss with you."

"What is it Hokage-sama?"

Sarutobi folded his hands in front of him. "Close the door."

Kakashi did so, his gut telling him this must be something important. "If this is about protecting Sasuke, I already know that. Or is it something to do with the fox boy?"

"The later," the old man responded. "Kakashi, are you familiar with a man named Ichimaru Gin?"

Kakashi put his book away, realizing this would require his undivided attention. "Doesn't ring a bell. Why?"

"It was several years ago when he was here last, and you were always gone on missions so I didn't expect you to know. Several years ago Naruto was assaulted and badly hurt just outside Konoha. He would have died if not for Ichimaru-san's efforts to save him. He got him to a hospital where he was healed, though under duress."

"So?"

"Apparently, in that short time, Naruto formed some sort of bond with the man. Soon after, Ichimaru-san asked me if he could become Naruto's legal guardian. I approved."

"But there was no mention of a legal guardian in Naruto's file," Kakashi pointed out.

Sarutobi nodded. "It was never became 'official,' as it were. A few months after that, Ichimaru-san left with a promise to return soon. He wasn't heard from for nearly six years."

"Why not include this in the file? It probably wouldn't have made a difference if I'd known this sooner, but I don't like being left in the dark." Kakashi said his face impassive.

"I apologize for that. You most likely would have found out about it during your interactions with Naruto if he made your team. The reason I'm telling you now is because things have suddenly taken an interesting turn."

"…For better or for worse?"

"For the better actually. Last night, when Naruto was duped into stealing the Scroll of Sealing, he was nearly killed again, this time by Mizuki. By a miracle though he was saved."

"So Ichimaru Gin returned?" Kakashi guessed accurately.

"Yes." Hiruzen said with a smile. "After six years, Gin has finally returned to Konoha for good, and his title as legal guardian will be official within the week."

"Perhaps I should meet this Gin."

"You will; he'll be here soon. But there's another reason I'm telling you this."

Kakashi looked at the old man expectantly. Sarutobi had his hands folded in front of his face, hiding all but his narrowed eyes from view. "Be aware what I'm about to tell you must be kept secret, at all cost. This is so important that there isn't even a ranking for it. Do you understand, Hatake Kakashi?"

Kakashi's lone visible eye narrowed and after a brief pause, he nodded.

"Ichimaru Gin is from another world entirely." Kakashi's eye would have widened if that line hadn't sounded like some cheap movie quote.

"What do you mean, Hokage-sama?"

"Just what I said. Ichimaru Gin is not from this world. Where he's from he is, or was, one of the thirteen most powerful beings of an organization called Soul Society." The old man reached under his desk and pressed a secret seal-pad and a file poofed into his hand. Retracting and opening it, he began looking over the facts just to make sure he was getting them right. "Soul Society was an organization of soldiers who made sure the human race, of that world, could safely pass into Soul Society, which is their afterlife."

Kakashi's eye narrowed significantly. "So what you're saying… is that Ichimaru Gin is technically dead."

Sarutobi nodded with slow purpose. "When you go to Soul Society, those who have a high enough reiatsu (spiritual pressure) have the capability to become Shinigami, the guides to the afterlife I mentioned before. The Shinigami have a pretty simple ranking system. There are thirteen divisions each encompassing several hundred members each. The top twenty are based on seats, with Twentieth Seat being the weakest. The strongest from each division are the vice-captains and captains. Gin was a captain."

Kakashi understood well enough what the Hokage was trying to get across; Gin was strong. "The last time Gin was in the village, even though for only a few months, he taught Naruto what he could about the ways of using a Shinigami's unique energy. As such, Naruto is going to require further guidance in training that you will not be able to provide."

"What exactly are you suggesting?"

Hiruzen sighed and leaned back in his chair. He knew what he was about to suggest was extremely controversial and rarely accepted in _any_ village. It may seem cold to any outsider, but the old Hokage placed Naruto's development above all else. "If Naruto passes your test, then I'll also be placing Ichimaru Gin on your team as a co-sensei."

Kakashi's eye visibly widened. "What? Hokage-sama, you can't be serious! No one assigns two sensei to a team, and besides you can only be a sensei if you are legally a Jounin!"

"It's necessary. In order for Naruto to reach his full potential, he's going to need Gin's knowledge. Just as you will teach him how to use chakra techniques, Gin will teach him his techniques."

"I can understand that, but how long until he starts to teach the others and interrupts my training assignments. There would be no synergy."

"Aint no need to worry 'bout that, Kakashi-san," came a sing-songy voice from the doorway.

Kakashi turned to see a silver haired man enter. He wore basic black pants with shinobi sandals, along with a black shirt with loose black sleeves that reached below his hands, and above that was a Chunin vest. His Konoha headband hung loosely around his neck. His face was cemented in a permanent smile, complete with permanently closed eyes.

"Sorry I'm late Sarutobi-san. I was jus' getting' my outfit on when I realized I was runnin' short on time."

Sarutobi smiled and waved off the apology. "Its fine Ichimaru-san, please come in."

Kakashi looked at the man with a scrutinizing eye. _'So this is Gin.'_

"Kakashi, Gin has made it clear he has no intention of teach any of your students. Just Naruto."

Kakashi calmed slightly. "Just Naruto, huh?" he said as he closed his eye. He was silent for a moment before he spoke again. "I guess its ok then. As long as he agrees to not interfere with my training, I will not interfere with his."

Gin gave a nod. "Fine wit' me."

"By the way," Kakashi began again, speaking to Gin, but looking at the Hokage. "I take by your clothes that Sarutobi has made you a legal shinobi." It was both a question and a statement. Hiruzen gave a nod and Gin shifted his headband as if to say "obviously."

Kakashi gave a deep sigh and pulled out his book again. "This is going to take some getting used to."

* * *

**A/N: And there's chapter four. I hope you guys liked it! I really don't have much else to say except that. Please be sure to place your comments in the nearest review receptacle on your way out! Since it's been so long since I've written a chapter, I'm a bit out of the loop in regards to writing so some feedback on how I'm doing so far would be greatly appreciated. I look forward to reading them! **

**Thanks for reading!**


	5. Chapter 5: Lessons and Tests

**A/N: And here's chapter 5! The plot of Naruto moves forward **_**now!**_** I'd like to say I'm thrilled by the amount of reviews I get per chapter. Over twenty! The only other story that gets that many is Souls and Swords, but that one has a dedicated fan-base and is over twenty chapters long. This one is only five long and yet it gets the same amount. Makes me think this can be one of those 1000+ review stories! :D **

**Speaking of which, it's time to thank those who took the time to review to chapter four. **AlucardY17, Zaralann, Chewie Cookies, marc, orchamus, Hypthetical Spiritual Entity, pyromania101, Kai Orihomunon, Archivist, **(Blank)**, ZeroDivisionCaptain, CMinuteByMinute, reven228, Victoriousvillian, hedwigfan, T00STr00nG, Wraithrage Ragnarock, OBSERVER01, Skelo, Solvdrage, Arashigan16, xiloveanime01x, MyNameIsARickRoll, Dragrako the Weaver, Ryuujin96, Seimeisamarian, Manga Zeal, WolfCoyote, **and** angel61991.

**OOWWWWW! My eyes hurt from looking over at your guys' names and then typing them out! Geez you guys have complicated names! Anyway, some of you guys had questions that I feel need to be answered.**

Zaralaan: **No probably not. Introduce his family? Maybe. Make them his hated enemies? Not likely.**

Pyromania101: **I don't like bashing too much on my fics. I like realism and plausibility rather than just your opinion thrown into the story. Not to say I don't like bashing in other fics I read :)**

Kai Orihomunon: **Your concern is addressed in this chapter. Read on!**

Reven228: **yeah but Heineko isn't solid. The only thing that would be sucked in would be the ash, but since it's not physically connected to the hilt, nothing would happen to the user.**

T00STr00nG: **Action without romance is pointless. I hate fis that just have meaningless fighting and no pairings. Naturally unless you're stupid and have no hormones, you're going to find someone attractive and go after them. No offence to your question. It was valid and to the point. I appreciate it and your time.**

And now, ONTO THE STORY!

* * *

**Konoha's Silver Shinobi, Chapter 5:  
Lessons and Tests**

Naruto sighed in contentment as the soles of his feet finally left the floor of the much-abhorred (in his opinion anyway) hospital. It had been an extra full day before he was released. He didn't know why; he was usually released as soon as possible. But he didn't dwell on it. However awkward it felt to him, Hinata's presence did help pass the time. They talked a little, just barely touching on things they had never before been permitted to discuss before. It was almost thrilling though. Like his first time eating at a restaurant in proper, that one fateful day when Gin first appeared, it felt both right and wrong. But he wouldn't trade it for the world. Gin had returned to his hospital room bearing gifts: Ramen for Naruto and Cinnamon rolls for Hinata (how he knew that was her favorite treat, Naruto didn't want to know).

When Hinata left due to visiting hours, Gin had bid him adieu and left for who knows where. He returned to get him that morning. In fact he was walking right next to him.

"Kami, it feels good to be back in my own clothes." Naruto exclaimed comfortably.

"I know watcha mean! Them hospital clothes are crazy drafty," Gin replied and waving a hand in front of his face for emphasis. "Speakin' of which, I noticed ya got a change o' wardrobe while I've been gone."

Naruto chuckled and smiled at his father. "It's just for the outdoors. I have another orange outfit at home. Dunno why, but I like the color orange."

Gin gave a shrug and placed his hands into his pockets. Naruto was pleasantly surprised to see Gin in Konoha shinobi uniform, though at the same time, not surprised he'd been accepted. Gin placed a hand on his shoulder and guided him down the street in a different direction than before. When Naruto gave his father an inquisitive look, Gin merely explained, "You've been in th' hospital for a few days; that's a few days trainin' time we've got ta makeup on."

Naruto's face lit up like a light. Not at the prospect of training in and of itself, but at the thought of training with his dad again._'Just like old times.'_

It took them several minutes to reach an empty training ground. Really, it was little more than a clearing in a forest with a large boulder sunk halfway in the ground, moss and earth already climbing over it from years of neglect. Somehow the grounds looked eerily familiar, and not just because it had been where he and Gin had trained years prior.

Gin stood apart from Naruto, several feet away. "First of all, I'm glad ta fin'lly see you again, Naruto. But I wanna see how well you've improved, or worsened in the few years I've been gone. We can celebrate out reunion the right way after the Genin initiations today."

Naruto's eye lit up again; celebration usually meant ramen. "Then for the sake of the ramen you're gonna buy me, I cannot lose!" Naruto said with a grin ad he drew his zanpakuto and held it up next to his face, the point of the blade directed at Gin.

Gin likewise drew his blade. They were identical. Both blades were exact replicas. The only difference Gin could see was that Naruto's handle was a pale orange, as opposed to his pale blue handle. "Twin swords for twin souls, eh?" he mumbled quietly. Naruto didn't hear him, but focused heavily on his father. Gin was well known (to him anyway) to attack when he least expected it. Gin began walking forward, the grass beneath his feet making soft sounds. "Naruto, you have Shinso… my zanpakuto. I won't have you doin' her a disgrace. Got it? I'm gonna teach ya the real way to use Shinso."

Naruto was practically giddy with excitement.

"Shikai. Now."

It was a command Naruto was all too eager to enact. "Roger that! Shoot to kill, Shinso!" But where Naruto had expected a surge of power and the blade shoot forth like it had a few nights before, an awkward silence fell over the clearing. Nothing happened.

Naruto's eyes narrowed in confusion as he looked at his sword. "Hey, what gives?" he asked, though it was directed at both his father and the blade itself. Gin's face didn't change. "Shikai revolves around th' relationship of both the zanpakuto an' the wielder 'imself. Just cuz you got lucky the other night, don't mean you can activate 'er anytime you want."

Naruto looked at his father hopefully, "Well that's a relief. I was scared for a minute there." He gave a large grin and scratched the side of his head.

'_Good. He aint daunted by 'is inability to use shikai. 'T's a step forward.'_ Gin thought with a mental smirk.

"In the meantime, I don't s'pose yer zanjutsu's gotten any worse?"

Naruto gave smile and settled into a sturdy stance. "No such luck, tou-san!" With the final syllable, Naruto rushed forward, holding Shinso in his right hand and letting his left trail behind him. Twin blades clanged audibly throughout the clearing as they met for the first time in years, and for the first time ever as fellow zanapkuto.

Gin felt the adolescent power within the blade as soon as it touched. _'Wuddia know… It really is Shinso. But…'_ he blocked a strike and returned one, swinging upward diagonally, sending Naruto hurtling back from the power of the strike. _'…something seems off 'bout it…'_

This time Gin rushed forward slashing wildly, almost randomly only to meet Naruto's equally almost random parries. Naruto had obviously emulated Gin's style very well while he was gone. But odds were this was the first time Naruto had actually used it against an actual person, let alone the one the one who invented it.

Naruto shunted Gin's blade away and thrust forward inside his downed guard. But Gin was far faster than Naruto and leapt back safely away from his sister blade. He slid to a stop several meters away. "That woulda been the perfect opportunity ta use yer Shikai. But that aside, you've gott'n pretty good at keepin' up wit' me."

Naruto soaked in his father's praise like a sponge. He beamed brightly at the ex-third captain. "Really? I kinda just went off of what I remembered you teaching me, but I thought I was remembering it wrong."

Gin laughed. "Well, ya aint as good as me anyway ya slice it."

Naruto growled at his father irritably. "Yeah, well… If this guy actually worked it would be different." He said waving Shinso back and forth idly.

"Get ta know yer zanpakuto." Naruto looked up in surprise. Gin sheathed his own and approached his son. "Gettin' ta know yer zanapkuto is the first step ta using it. In the next few days I want ya to meditate and see if you can earn a little 'bout 'er."

Naruto gave a nod. "I guess learning about him would definitely help. But aside from that, I can't wait till I can do what you can do!"

Gin gave a chuckle and placed his arm on his sons shoulder and pulled him close and he led them both away from the clearing. _'Sorry Naru-kun, but yer a ways away from learning Shikai, let alone Bankai.'_ Gin had never told Naruto about Bankai. He would talk about it when the issue came up, but until then, it was a moot point. "Time for ramen!"

"YEEEEES! RAAAMEEEN! I'M COMING MY DARLINGS!"

* * *

Hiashi strolled casually down to the meeting room within the Hyuuga complex. He had a pretty good idea what this was about, but still a sudden summoning of the family elders and other associated VIPs (like himself) on such short notice still got him nervous at times. He approached the sliding door that led into the room and pushed it aside. Within was a well lit room with the wall on the left side nonexistent, revealing an ornate garden and pond. Flowers of many kinds sprouted there, and the koi fish grew several inches larger annually.

Hinata spent a lot of time there in the past few years, and he learned she had a hobby of flower pressing. Lately, she'd not had enough time to do so again, what with academy graduation and such going on, not to mention the events of the previous few days.

In the middle of the room was along mid-shin high table and pillows all around it where sat the various Hyuuga elderly council. Hiashi sighed silently and took his place at the empty pillow at the head of the table, closest to the door he'd just walked through. A Branch member attendant closed it shut behind him.

There was a quiet chatter around the table, and his immediate presence did not cause them to stop. Casual talk was always a good thing. It meant that the subject likely wasn't all _that_ important. But then he heard the subject of the conversations and realized he'd jinxed himself. It was then they all ceased their chatter and turned to Hiashi.

'_Hot-seat time,'_ he thought grimly.

The first to speak was one named Hiyoari. "Hiashi-dono, I'll get straight to the point; the reason we've all been called here on such short notice is a subject that involves your daughter."

Hiashi played the fool. "Oh? And what exactly has she done now?" Hiashi would be the first to admit it, but he didn't exactly have the best relationship with his eldest daughter. She was considerably weaker than her younger sister, which when you considered the differences in age was unbearably embarrassing. He'd never held her in high regard, and often had had meetings not unlike this one regarding her weaknesses.

"I'm sure you remember a few days ago when the military was scrambled in an attempt to retrieve the Scroll of Sealing that was stolen by the fox-boy. We know that Hinata had followed him that night, but our question is why."

Hiashi remained silent, sensing the man had more to say, and indeed he did.

"Based her actions the past few days, we have a pretty good idea why she was there." Hyoari looked around, as if he didn't even want to speak of the subject, but felt he had no choice.

"The past few days, your daughter has been visiting the hospital, more specifically the Kyuubi child. She's gone to his room both yesterday and the day before, and she attempted to do so today, but he'd already been released."

Hyoari grimaced. "We could understand if it was a simple thank-you visit, but that would only need to be undergone once, and not nearly for the amount of time she's spent there each visit."

The old man sighed deeply. "We think your daughter is becoming close to the boy."

Hiashi remained silent and closed his eyes. If he had just found out about this, his disappointment meter would have gone up by several degrees, but he'd obviously already known, so he simply felt that an explanation was in order.

Hyoari continued. "Hiashi, do realize we wouldn't have called this meeting if we thought it was a simple solution; I probably would have just told you personally, but as you can imagine this is a big deal."

Hiashi nodded and spoke. "I understand. I suppose I have a bit of explaining to do to you all." He gestured to the gathered and placed his hands on the table. "I was the one who suggested she visit the boy the first time. In fact, I allowed all three visits."

The assembled blinked in surprise. "For what reasons?"

Hiashi was silent for a moment, debating whether it was a good idea to mention who the concept's progenitor was. He decided against it for now. Gin wasn't on the Hyuuga's Highest-to-Respect list, but then again, that was thinking of half a decade ago; they might have changed their mind."The other night, after the Scroll of Sealing event, an idea was proposed to me. I'd recently noticed her affection for the boy, which I've noted you've all discouraged her from having, and it got me thinking. Don't ask me where it came from, but I thought, 'a union between her and the boy _could_ potentially be advantageous.'"

At that, several elders looked at him in straight shock. "Hiashi! What could possibly have given you such an idea?" said an older man named Hizunen.

Hiashi allowed himself a mental smirk. Now was the clincher. "It was Ichimaru Gin who proposed the idea."

The council fell into a still silence. He could practically see the wheels turning in their heads. At last one spoke."…Ichimaru Gin is back in the village?"

Hiashi nodded. "He returned the other night, just in time to save both the Uzumaki and Hinata. Truth be told, if it weren't for him the traitor Mizuki would have gotten away with the theft and both children would be dead."

The council members looked amongst themselves. They hadn't known that. Nothing about Gin's return had reached their ears, and it would be Hiashi's trump card in this discussion. He now had the advantage. "He explained to me why he thought it a good idea, and I'm inclined to agree with him."

"But how? A relationship between the Jinchuuriki and the heiress... That's unthinkable… Unforgivable even!" A few of the others made to agree with Hizunen, but Hiashi now had momentum, and he wasn't about to lose it, out of principal.

"But you just said it yourself. It is unthinkable. A _Jinchuriki._ A vessel for a Bijuu and capable of almost limitless potential and power. It's _unforgivable_ that someone hadn't thought of it sooner!" Hiashi smiled with excitement. It wasn't often he could announce something as monumental as this idea, so he was going to, for once, live in the moment.

His smiled faded as he transitioned. "In all honesty, my eldest is not the prime candidate for successor to the Hyuuga family, and I'll be the first to admit that. She has very little skills, hardly any determination, her will is easily broken, and she can't compare to even some of the lowest academy graduates. She's got a bit of intelligence, I'll give her that, but otherwise isn't good for much. At least, much else except as a political piece."

"For marriage you mean." Hyoari clarified. Hiashi gave a curt nod. "Exactly."

He noticed some of the elders placing their fingers to their chins in contemplation. "Just as genin teams are sorted by those with polar opposite attributes, perhaps the boy's limitless potential could rub off on her."

"What's to say she won't be negatively influenced by the Kyuubi?" asked another elder named Haizu.

"The fox itself or the boy?"

"Is there a difference?"

Hiashi pinched his thumb and index finger together closely. "Only slightly. The key two being that, one: the boy won't kill her on sight, and two: he himself has a fondness for her, though considerably reserved. He is loud and boastful, but also quiet and taciturn (at times anyway). But that's what I've personally witnessed. The fact is, when we put our bias aside, you can't think of any deal-breaking reason for such a relationship _not_ to be approved."

A heavy silence fell over the elders again. Those who were visibly listening to him now adopted the same thinking pose as those before had. Hiashi crossed his arms over his chest. There were other advantages too, but he figured all of them to be smart enough to know them without his voicing it.

The offspring of the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki _and_ a Hyuuga could breed excellent results, pardon the pun.

In the back of his mind a little voice whispered that he wasn't exactly looking out for his daughter's best interests, but rather for his own and the clan's own good. It told him his priorities were reversed. But just like every time previous, he put the voice away in a dark corner of his memories, cobwebs and dust quickly covering it.

Also, Hiashi knew Gin was different than a normal human, just as Naruto was. They both had special powers that he'd never seen before, and no doubt Naruto would be taught to use them. Just another bonus that the other elders weren't aware of. All the cards were in his hand.

Hyoari folded his hands in front of him and bounced them on the tabletop quietly. He looked like he wanted to say something but against his better judgment would say something else. "If… and this is a big 'if'… we were to allow this… relationship, the boy will need to know the rules of courtship, _and_ of nobility. He needs to realize that your daughter is not any normal 'girlfriend' as they call them these days. No sexual relations, no excessive physical contact, and under no circumstances are they to be alone at any given time."

"Well we can't exactly have a guard sitting by them the whole time they're together… can we?" asked a younger councilman by the name of Hitosu.

"Well, they don't exactly have to know one's there either. At the very least the boy needs to know we'll be watching him, and if he can prove to us he's a gentleman (however unlikely that is), then _perhaps_ we can give them both some privileges later on."

Hiashi nodded. "Gin is familiar with the ways of nobles. I'm sure he will instruct the boy just fine."

The councilmen seemed to nod their head in acceptance and began to get up to leave. "One last thing Hiashi…" Hyoari said as he rose. "Make sure the boy knows that if he breaks any of the rules, he'll be in for a world of hurt." His eyes narrowed dangerously.

Hiashi's face was impassive. "Don't presume you'd be more angry than I. She is still _my_ daughter after all."

And so the meeting ended. Hiashi was the first to the door. As he placed his hand on it to open it, he could hear the muffled sound of feet on the floor, heading at a fast pace away from the door. He opened it and looked left and right, seeing the fleeting form of his youngest daughter rounding the corner. He sighed. He hoped she'd only been passing by, or else he'd need to explain to her what was going on and that would not be a fun conversation.

* * *

Gin and Naruto walked down the street toward Ichiraku's ramen shop. Well, Gin walked, Naruto bounded forward, skipped back, then bounded forward again, repeating the process several times as his excitement for eating and irritation for Gin's slowness grew. Gin laughed at his expense. "Yer only gonna get more hungry if you keep runnin' like that."

Naruto ignored him in favor of smelling the delightful scent of noodles, meat and spices from his favorite food place. It didn't take too much longer before they reached it. Naruto dashed in and Gin ducked his head under the hanging privacy flaps. Naruto had already sat himself at the bar and Gin sat next to him. Ayame, the waitress and daughter of the store owner, looked up and her eyes lit up when she saw Naruto. "Ah, Naruto-kun! Where've you been the past few days? Our shop's been lonely without our favorite customer!"

Naruto rubbed his neck bashfully. "Well, I've had some stuff to do, and I couldn't help it. But I'm here now! So serve up!"

Ayame smiled genuinely, which surprised Gin, and nodded. "Alrighty then! One _Naruto Special_ coming right up!" She turned and shouted into the back of the shop. "Tou-chan! Come look who's here!"

As she went about making Naruto's meal, an older, kind looking man emerged from the doorway behind the counter. He wore an apron with a white cooking hat. His eyes also brightened at Naruto's sight. "Well well well, finally come back have you?"

Naruto grinned so wide his eyes closed. "You bet old man! I want only your best ingredients this time!"

Teuchi folded his arms, but not in a cross manner. "Oh? And what's the occasion?"

Naruto smiled even more and looked to the side, toward Gin. "Tou-san finally came back!"

Both Teuchi and Ayame's eyes widened at his use of the word "tou-san" and they both turned to the silver haired man next to Naruto. Gin gave a simple wave as hello.

Teuchi looked at him curiously. "Really? I thought you were an orphan Naruto." He said it almost solemnly, as if he didn't want to say it at all or as if he regretted saying it as soon as it left his lips. Naruto nodded undaunted. "I am, but Tou-san found me in danger a long time ago and took care of for a while. He left several years ago, but just came back the other day! So this is a special meal!"

Teuchi smiled at Naruto, understanding why he used the familial term. If this man was who Naruto claimed to be, then it was understandable that he would hold the man in such close regard.

"Really? Then this _is_ a special meal! What can I get you, Mr…?"

Gin smiled. "Gin. Ichimaru Gin. And I'll have the same thing he's havin'."

Teuchi nodded and began preparing an identical meal as his daughter. "Naruto, I've never heard you talk about Gin-san before. How come?"

Naruto looked a bit sheepish and he frowned. "Well… tou-san's not exactly well revered around here because he took care of me. I didn't want to do anything that would cause you to dislike me, so I never mentioned him." Naruto gave an apologetic look to his dad who simply waved it off in understanding.

Teuchi turned around with Gin's complete meal, just as Ayame did the same. "Well, here ya go Naruto! Your favorite!"

Naruto drooled in joy as the ramen was placed in front of him. "OMGOMGOMGOMG! LOOKS AWSOME! Thanks old man! ITADAKIMASU!" And with that Naruto dug in, Gin doing the same but considerably more reservedly. Gin had to admit, the ramen was exquisite. Well, as far as ramen went anyway.

Naruto finished his bowl in an instant sighing in happiness as the steaming soup and noodles traveled to his stomach. Gin smiled at his son even as he slurped on his third bite of noodles.

Suddenly a flash of recognition hit him. Ramen still hanging from his mouth her turned to the side and leaned down to look under the privacy flaps. His smile almost doubled. Sucking the noodles into his mouth and swallowing he turned to his son. "Naru, get up 'n' face outside fer a sec."

Naruto looked at his father curiously but did as he was told. "Hold yer arms out too." Discreetly, Gin pointed a finger towards the outside of the shop and mumbled something under his breath.

"You mean like this-?"

A ripple of light shot from Gin's finger to the outside. Instantly there was a massive clamor as zipping sounds echoed over and over. Glass shattered and yells and screams to watch out were shouted loudly. The laser-like sound continuously reverberated. Naruto gave his father a curious look, to which Gin just help a finger. "Wait for iiiit…"

The zipping sound continued for several more seconds, and more and more chaos ensued outside. Naruto sweat-dropped. _'Was than an elephant I just heard?'_

It continued for several more second before it fell silent. Gin nervously laughed. "Aheh…Oops?"

Naruto dead-panned at his father and his arms fell to his sides…

...Just in time to catch a familiar flying Hyuuga full in the chest, the force of which slammed them both (more so Naruto than her) into the counter where they (more so Naruto, again) slid to a semi-unconscious heap on the floor.

Hinata for her part was almost speechless, and quite stunned. She sat there unknowingly in Naruto's half-dead lap wondering what the heck just happened. She looked up and to her left to see Gin sitting on a stool and wearing a relieved expression on his face.

"Yes! Aim's still good!" Gin said triumphantly. Hinata just blinked at him stupidly. Gin, being the kind-hearted individual he was, simply pointed down, to which she looked, only to see Naruto's legs sprawled out beneath her. She instantly gasped and held her hands to her mouth as she looked behind her, only to see Naruto leaned against the wall of the counter, mouth agape and the whites of his eyes showing. "Oh my god! Naruto! Are you alright?"

Though it went unseen by her, Gin's fist pump of victory was clearly seen by Teuchi and Ayame who did their best to hold in their giggles and pretended it didn't happen.

However, Gin's victory was twofold. One he actually aimed correctly, and the second was that she forgot to use _kun_ as Naruto's title right there. _'Baby steps. Small baby steps.' _Then he thought about it a bit more. _'Naaaah.'_

Gin leaned over the counter and saw a packet of ramen seasoning. Grabbing it, he held it down to Hinata's level and blew on its opening, sending a wave of air filled with the smell over Naruto's face. Instantly, Naruto's eyes rolled forward and his nose twitched.

'_So predictable.'_ All three spectators thought in unison.

Naruto shook his head and looked up to see Hinata, a worried look on her face. "Oh, hey there Hinata," he said halfheartedly as he slowly awoke.

Then it hit him hard. "WHAT THE ****?" He practically leapt out from under the Hyuuga and landed on the counter like a cat, trying to place as much distance between her and him in his surprise. Hinata blinked in surprise as her butt hit the ground. _'Wow, Naruto-kun's really fast!'_

Naruto's wits slowly returned to him and he relaxed. "Oh, Hinata-sama, I mean -san. Sorry about that, I was j-just surprised," he said with slight anxiety.

Hinata nodded and stood as Naruto bashfully got off of the counter. "Um, i-if you don't mind m-my asking… h-how did I get h-here?"

Naruto opened his mouth to answer when he realized exactly how she "got here." He threw a glare at his father who looked offended that he'd even assume he'd had something to do with it.

"Dunno," Naruto bluffed as he turned back to his friend. "But since you're here, why don't you join us?"

For a moment, Hinata looked like she'd agree, but then began looking around as if looking for a reason why she couldn't. She spied Naruto's empty bowl at his place and decided that was a good excuse. "O-oh, b-but you've a-already eaten… I-I wouldn't want to i-impose…"

Naruto relaxed and gave her his foxy smile. "Oh that's not a problem at all! I can down twenty of these in one meal!" he said pointing to the bowl. He sat down, and gestured to the seat on his left, strategically placing himself between her and his meddling father. Hinata seemed reluctant to take his offer, but after a few seconds of thought, reluctantly took the seat.

Naruto ordered three more bowls for himself and Hinata also ordered a bowl of miso ramen. They talked about this and that for a while before Naruto brought up the question, "So what are you doing around here Hinata-san?"

Hinata's body went rigid as the memory of why exactly she _had_ been near the store entered her head. "T-That's right! I was heading to the academy for team assignments!"

Naruto face took on a stunned expression. "Oh shit! I totally forgot about that! Thanks for the food Ayame-san, Teuchi-ossan!"He gave a wave as the three of them got up to leave.

"Come back soon, Naruto-kun!" The younger of the two replied as she waved. Gin put the money on the table and walked out first. As soon as he lifted the flap to peer outside he saw a mass of broken glass, overturned carts, a few broken mirrors, several injured villagers, and a crowd of people looking around and helping out the unfortunate. Gin sweat-dropped. _'Oops?'_

Naruto dashed out and into the street, not bothering with the surrounding chaos and sped off to the academy. Hinata left right after him, following with a cry to wait up.

Gin exited the small shop and looked around. "I see nothing, I hear nothing, I know nothing~" he sang out obliviously as he also marched off to the academy, picking his way through the mayhem he inadvertently caused as if he hadn't a care in the world.

* * *

Iruka looked over the assembled students with joy. Today would be his last day as their teacher and what they did next, with their Jounin testing them in their own way, would define their lives as either ninja or civilians. It hurt too; they were all like family to him. Well… most of them.

Just as he opened his mouth to speak, the classroom door opened with a bang, and not unsurprisingly, Naruto poked his head in, looking quite frantic. In an instant he leapt forward, over several desks and fellow students and landed in his usual seat, looking as inconspicuous as possible. An instant later Hinata came running into the room and looked around. Seeing everyone looking at her and the now seated Naruto she bowed at the waist and apologized profusely for being late before rushing to her seat as well.

Iruka felt a facial tick appear as he watched them. "You're late!"

Hinata looked quite ashamed at that, so he directed his gaze more toward Naruto. "Hey Ramen take priority! You know that Iruka-sensei!"

Iruka grit his teeth in annoyance as he smacked the clipboard he was holding against his forehead. _'Whatever… They're not my problem anymore!'_

"Moving on then…" he growled out through clenched teeth. "We'll get started right away with the team assignments. We tried to base them all off of your grades and performance in the Academy, so the dunces will be pair with the smarties, with the average graders being thrown in here and there."

He recomposed himself into his "teacher look" and pointed to the clipboard in his hand. "The teams have already been assigned so you can't trade or switch, got it?" They all nodded.

"Good, then first team 1…"

He went about placing the students in teams, but as more and more students left with their assigned sensei, which stood at the door to lead them out, Naruto was getting a bit antsy. More and more students kept leaving, reducing his chance of _not_ being on Sasuke's team to slim. He didn't like the boy, honestly. In reality, it was probably because they were in fact very similar, but in their own ways. The part that caused the most clashes however was their mutual egos… and pride. However, when Team Eight was called he was pleased to hear Iruka-sensei say, "For Team Eight, Kiba, Shino and Sakura will be under command of Yuuhi Kurenai."

Sakura cried anime tears of remorse that she hadn't been placed on the same team as her precious Sasuke. "Team Seven, Hatake Kakashi will be your team sensei, which will be Hinata, Naruto, and Sasuke."

Now it was Naruto's turn to cry anime tears as he glanced over at Sasuke, who didn't seem too pleased at being on Naruto's team either. However, Naruto was also glad that Hinata had been placed on his team. Obviously someone up above was watching over his best interests. However, when they looked at the door, their sensei wasn't there. All three looked at each other and shrugged before settling down to nap on their desks until he arrived.

Naruto woke up about three hours later to a flick to the ear from Sasuke. Naruto got up and rubbed his ear in irritation and was about to retort when Sasuke pointed toward the door. Their sensei, a white haired man whose face was almost entirely hidden from view due to a face mask and the headband that covered his left eye, was standing in the door way looking slightly apologetic.

"Sorry about being late, I lost track of time and on my way here I had to help an old lady cross the street, then I had to help a poor puppy find its mother and by that time I realized that if was going to be late I might as well be super late! Again, sorry." He said with a smile. Well, it was probably a smile, considering out his lone eye squinted upwards.

Naruto yawned deeply and slapped himself once to wake up. "Well, I had a good nap anyway."

Sasuke nodded in agreement while Hinata seemed to be very silent. Kakashi placed his hand to his chin and looked contemplative. "Hmm, my first impression of you guys is… Well, not bad."

Both Naruto and Sasuke deadpanned at him. _'He just insulted me… somehow,'_ they thought in unison.

"Well, if you'll follow me, we'll start off with our first team event." They all perked up at that and followed him out, Hinata waiting for Sasuke to pass before she joined Naruto's side. Naruto flashed her a smile and nodded to her in thanks. She smiled in return and poked her fingers together nervously.

Kakashi led them out of the academy and into the village, finally stopped when they reached the steps of a tree filled arbor.

"Ok, first of all, let's start with some introductions. Name's, hobbies, likes, dislikes dreams of the future, personal secrets..."

They looked at him strangely.

"You know what I mean."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow at the man. "Maybe you should go first and show us what you want."

Kakashi sighed. They were a lot like his other team-hopefuls. "Ok then. I'm Hatake Kakashi. I'm not going to tell you my likes and dislikes. Dreams for the future… Well, I have a few hobbies."

Silence pervaded the annoyed audience of children. "Now your turn, from right to left."

Naruto blinked at the man and yawned again. "Uzumaki Naruto. Since I don't know you, I'm not gonna tell you my likes or dislikes, and my dreams are my own business." He finished by raising his middle finger to the man and closed his eyes and lay back on the ground.

Hinata looked at Naruto in surprise while Sasuke smirked. Kakashi sighed again. _'I guess I had that coming for a while now.'_

"But in all seriousness, I suppose my dream is to be as great a man as my dad." Naruto spoke again, his eyes open and staring at the cloudless sky, a fierce determination burning within their azure lenses.

"Any likes?"

Naruto blushed and with only slight hesitation, pointed to Hinata next to him, causing her to blush as well and flinch back in surprise. She looked from Naruto to the other two around her and noticed they were both staring at her. "Wha-? Um-, I… I mean, well... That is… we-" she stuttered out with shock and embarrassment. She hadn't expected Naruto to do that, which both flattered her and caught her off guard. When her words failed her she silently dropped her head and tried to shrink into her jacket, twiddling her fingers as her blush turned a bright crimson.

Kakashi smiled in amusement and Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Well then, while we give the young lady a chance to recover, we'll go straight to you." He pointed to Sasuke.

The young Uchiha folded his hands in front of his face and stared off into some unknown place. "My name is Uchiha Sasuke. I don't like much of anything, and there are tons of things I hate. I don't think the word 'dream' fits, but I _do_ have an ambition. That is the resurrection of my clan, and to kill a certain man."

Both Naruto and Hinata looked at him strangely, like he was something they'd never seen before. _'I wonder who it is he wants to kill,'_ thought Naruto. Hinata simply had a disagreeable feeling enter her as she stared at the boy. _'I don't know why, but he kind of scares me…'_

Kakashi nodded his head subtly. _'As I thought.'_ He looked at the last of them. "That just leaves the little lady."

Hinata cleared her throat and composed herself. "M-my name is Hyuuga Hinata. My l-likes and dreams are private. S-sorry…" She couldn't say it but most of her likes and dreams were centered around a certain blonde boy next to her. But then again, he had been so bold as to say that he liked her in front of the others, it would only be right if she did the same. "W-well, I _d-do_ like N-Naruto-san… a l-lot…"

Now it was Naruto's turn to blush as he gave an embarrassed but happy smile to the girl beside him from where he lay. A feeling of pride washed over both of them and Naruto crossed his arms behind his head while Hinata pressed her fingers together, but she had a smile on her face.

Kakashi shook his head. _'Why do I have a feeling this is going to be a daily thing? Mendokse.'_

* * *

Elsewhere in the village, Shikamaru sneezed loudly, causing his sensei to know exactly where he was in their game of _find but don't be found._ "Shikamaru! You're going to have to do better than that!"

'_Seriously? C'moooon. This is such a pain.'_

* * *

"Alright then. Now that that's done, you guys can follow me to the training grounds. We're going to have a little survival training today."

The three of them perked up. "Survival training? What kind of survival training?"

Kakashi almost smiled. "Well, come with me and find out."

They looked at each other and shrugged, getting up and following. The trip itself was uneventful. It was only when they had reached the training field that they were starting to get nervous. He pulled out a small clock from a bag he had and placed it on one of the three stumps placed in the ground. "You have three hours. The goal of this survival exercise is to get these bells from me." He held up a duo of bells attached to a small red string.

"If you do not get the bells within the time limit, I'd normal have some lunch prepared and you wouldn't be able to have it, but in this case…"

He trailed off and they all blinked, wondering what he was going to say. "You'll have to come at me with the intent to kill, or else you won't get the bells. You can use any weapon you have. Not that it'll help you any."

Naruto blinked. Was a Jounin really that powerful that he was _this_ sure of his abilities against a Genin?

"You ready then? When I say start: Reeeadyyy-"

There was a blur of blue and Sasuke rushed forward, kunai drawn and ready to cut. Kakashi blocked it easily and held onto the knife wielding arm. "Hey now, I didn't say start yet."

Sasuke smirked. "Early bird gets the worm, sensei." Sasuke said as he stared at the Jounin confidently.

Kakashi actually smiled at him. "Well, I guess you're right. Ok then, START!"

And he vanished. The three students looked at each other and then at their surroundings. Hinata looked at Naruto worriedly while Sasuke shoved his hand into his pockets and sauntered off on his own. Naruto was ok with that; he wouldn't work well with Sasuke anyway.

"Well, Hinata-san, it looks like it's just you and me. Let's get started planning."

Hinata smiled at Naruto's confidence and nodded. "Hai!"

* * *

**Two hours later.**

Kakashi lazily read through his book as he waited for his students to attack him. He knew they were pretty much all greenhorns and had no idea how to _really _fight someone. The Academy could only prepare you for so much before it failed to meet the real world's was probably the only one capable of hurting him, being the last Uchiha and all that. Naruto… Maybe. He didn't know much about the boy, but Gin had praised him for being the best of any of the academy students. Hinata was weak on the outside, but she had a spark of determination inside her somewhere. Indeed, it seemed like she depended a bit too much on Naruto to get that spark into a roaring fire. In other words, take out Naruto, her resolve weakens. Of course, if he reversed the process, taking her out first, Naruto would likely go into a frenzy and lose his cool, making it an easy win anyway.

He was interrupted from his thoughts as he heard a whistling sound in the air right before a kunai landed right were his had had been a second before. He cracked his neck, as if he had intended to do that when he turned his head to dodge. "You're going to have to do better Naruto."

He watched as Naruto stepped out into the clearing with his wakizashi drawn and held at the ready. "Are you prepared to fight for real?"

In response, Naruto readied himself and charged. Kakashi pulled out a kunai and blocked the first strike. The nice part about Naruto's style was that since he was so small, and his center of gravity was also low to the ground, his short sword was perfect for up-close encounters. But Kakashi could easily predict his slashes. The stabs were a bit harder because he actually had to move out of the way. Naruto reversed his grip and spun wildly, attacking the white haired ninja in a series of windstorm slashes. As soon as Naruto stopped spinning, Kakashi prepared to counter attack when his senses went on high alert. Instead of knocking Naruto away like he had planned, he instead leapt out of the way as Hinata came bursting through the bushes behind him using her Jyuuken to try and hit him. Fortunately he guessed she might do that, but as soon as he landed he noticed Naruto was already going after him.

Naruto leapt into the air and spin once, using the momentum to crash his sword against Kakashi's kunai. Even as he did so, Hinata was also closing on him. _'They have pretty good teamwork. But even two of them won't be enough.'_ Turning his wrist he flipped Naruto over his shoulder and used his left hand to grab Hinata's outstretched right arm and throw her to the ground. Before she fell entirely though, he dropped his kunai and slapped the Hyuuga in the back of the neck lightly, dazing but not knocking her out entirely.

With a flick of his foot, he kicked the kunai back up into his hand. "Better next time, I guess?"

Naruto stood immediately and helped the swaying Hinata as she tried, unsuccessfully to rise. There was a rush of steps behind Kakashi as he turned to see _another _Naruto attack him, stabbing quickly with his sword. Kakashi's eye went wide as he felt the resistance from the clone. _'Kage Bunshin?'_

He threw the clone to the ground behind him and heard the telltale poof that it was in fact a clone. He looked at the real Naruto helping the injured Hinata. But something was off with the girls face… a fox like smile that would've look more appropriate on… _'No, they couldn't have…!'_

He turned just in time to see Hinata thrust her arm forward. "HA!" Kakashi didn't have time to react and got a Jyuuken to the gut.

He reeled with the pain of the attack. _'I see. Naruto attacked with a Kage Bunshin disguised as Hinata, while the Naruto I thought was a clone was really Hinata. Well done fox-boy, well done.'_ He separated himself from Hinata by jumping back. No sooner had he landed when a stream of flame poured out of the trees and surged toward him. His eye narrowed and he sank underground. _'And Sasuke was hiding in the woods just in case I got away. No, wait, he wasn't part of their plan,'_ he corrected himself as he watched his other two students' shocked faces. _'He was just waiting for his chance to strike.'_

He rose from the earth several yards away from the field of battle, cloaked by the woods. Right next to Sasuke. "Yo."

The boy jumped in fright at his sensei's voice. He turned to strike Kakashi, who blocked the punch with ease. Then, while he held his right arm, Sasuke swung his left; Kakashi blocked that one too. With all due credit to Kakashi's newfound respect for Naruto's tactical mind, Sasuke was simply better than either of his other two teammates.

With a grunt, Sasuke swung his right leg up and over, which Kakashi blocked with his elbow. Since Kakashi was now holding almost all of his limbs, he used that support and swung his other leg down, which Kakashi caught with his right hand, having to let go of Sasuke's right arm to do so.

A smile crept across Sasuke's face as his now free right hand reached for the bells.

Kakashi's eye widened as he saw Sasuke's hand close over the bell. With a shove, he pushed him away, but not before the boy had securely managed to get the bell in his possession. Kakashi grimaced. _'I was careless. He really is skilled.'_

Then the sound of cloth fluttering in the wind caught his ears from behind and he turned to see Naruto in the middle of a diving leap, sword outstretched. Kakashi went to dodge to the right to avoid the stab, but he found his momentum suddenly stopped by Sasuke, who was shoving the opposite way he was going, thereby holding him in place. Then, all too late, he realized that Naruto wasn't trying to stab him, but cut off the bell from its string.

The small sound of thread being cut accompanied Naruto's slash, and as soon as the bell was separated from its tether, the blonde reached out with his left hand and made to grab the now free-floating object.

With a kick, Kakashi knocked Naruto away and into a tree. He hit it hard. Kakashi turned his attention back to the bell, only to find that it wasn't where it should be. Sasuke leapt away from Kakashi with a smile.

All of a sudden, Kakashi realized it; he'd been beaten. Never once had he been beaten in the exams.

"We win, Kakashi-sensei." Sasuke said with a smile as he took his bell out of his back pocket and shone it in the light.

Kakashi nodded as the timer went off in the clearing. "Well, you got the bell anyway, but Naruto didn't, and neither did Hinata."

At that time, Hinata stepped out from behind a tree, her face crestfallen. Naruto stood up from where he'd fallen, but he smiled despite Kakashi's statement. "What're you talking about sensei? I got _my_ bell!" With a massive grin, Naruto opened his mouth to reveal… the bell.

Kakashi now realized what had happened. Naruto knew that reaching for the bell would make Kakashi react, so instead of actually _trying_ to each for it, he instead was aiming on grabbing it with his mouth, which he must have done as he was knocked away.

Kakashi sighed. He slowly raised his hands and clapped. "Well done," he said at last. "Not one of my previous teams managed to get the bells, yet you two did. However, since Hinata didn't get a bell, she will be sent back to the Academy for another year."

All three pairs of eyes widened at that. "Wait wait wait, what do you mean be sent back? Why can't she stay on the team?" Sasuke asked. Not that he particularly liked Hinata, but she was at least a good fighter, and could be an invaluable member of their team.

"Well, there are only two bells, so only two of you will pass. If you want to sacrifice yourself for her, then I'll allow it. Just know that if you do, _you'll_ be sent back for another year in her stead."

Sasuke looked down in anger. He wanted to, but he wasn't about to give his hard earned bell to another. Naruto on the other hand gave it to her without hesitation. "Then here, take it Hinata."

She looked at his outstretched hand in shock. "B-b-b-but Naruto-san, t-that means you'll h-have to go back to the A-academy for another year!"

Naruto waved it off. "Yeah well I passed before and I can pass again. Besides, if anyone's gonna fail, it might as well be the number one loser in the village."

Without giving Hinata a chance to respond, he turned to Kakashi and pointed at her. "There, now she can pass."

Kakashi gave a nod. "Yes, yes she can."

But Hinata would have none of it. "B-but this test is s-so u-unfair! There were only t-two bells! W-what's the p-point of matching u-us up with our o-opposites if we're just g-going to be s-separated?" Though she stuttered, her voice was demanding and authoritative.

Without warning, Sasuke stepped up and handed his bell to Naruto. This surprised everyone, even Sasuke himself. When Naruto hesitantly took the bell, not sure how to respond, Sasuke shoved his hands in his pockets.

"S-Sasuke… why?"

"Face it Naruto, you couldn't pass again in a million years. Me on the other hand, I'm an Uchiha. I could wiz right through the Academy in no time."

Kakashi was silent as he looked at them all before he spoke. "Well then, I guess you all pass."

The three students blinked in surprise, their mouths agape in shock. "B-But you just said-"

"I know what I said, and now I'm saying you all pass." He walked over to them and took the bells from their hands. "The purpose of this test was to see if you could work as a team. Naruto, Hinata, you both proved you could do it. Sasuke, while you just waited for an opening, your choice to help hold me still while Naruto got the other bell showed that you had the capacity to do the same. The reason this test only has two bells is because it's designed to also cause friction between the students, at least those who figure out early on that only two will pass."

Kakashi gestured for them all to follow him back to the logs. "You three didn't figure the point of the test, but you demonstrated it, even if only a little. But that's fine, I can work with that. So starting tomorrow, Team Seven will begin its duties!"

He gave a smile to the three as they now looked at him with happy faces. Naruto was ecstatic with joy; he'd finally be a ninja. Hinata likewise looked joyful, though whether it was because she'd become a ninja, she was getting stronger, or because she would be able to be with Naruto, no one could tell. Sasuke smiled in his own way… Which is probably more accurately described as a large…er smirk.

"Yes! Dad's gonna be so proud of me!" he said as he smiled brightly. The image of him and Gin going for Ramen every day for the next week burned into his mind. It was how Gin had always rewarded Naruto.

"Actually," Kakashi said in Naruto's direction, "That reminds me. You can come out now."

There was silence for a moment before footsteps could be heard from the tree line. Out stepped a familiar silver haired man with the basic shinobi attire, plus a longer sleeved shirt and a small sword on his hip. He wore his headband around his neck like Hinata did. Naruto's eyes widened slightly as his dad appeared.

"Tou-san, what're you doing here?" he asked, not understanding. Kakashi clarified for them both. "The Hokage has decided that I and Ichimaru-san will co-lead Team Seven. Since this was my test, he let me do as I please."

"But I won the bet, so yer gonna have ta pay up." Gin said as he crossed his arms.

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "Bet?"

"Yeah… Ichimaru-san and I were discussing whether you guys would pass or fail the test. I guess I lost."

Naruto smiled brightly, knowing that his dad had faith in his skills. Then he realized that that meant Kakashi had best against them… and more specifically, again _him._ "What the hell? Why the fuck're you betting against your own students? Isn't that biased?"

"Oh, I guess it is. I hadn't thought about that!"

"Bullshit you didn't! You wanted us to fail didn't you?"

"Now now, no need to get angry; you passed didn't you?"

Naruto growled loudly at his sensei as he gave him a bone piercing glare.

Sasuke however was pondering the Hokage's decision. Why would he decide that their team needed two sensei? And from what Naruto said, it looked like that Ichimaru guy was his dad (which surprised him more than anything since they looked nothing alike, except maybe the eyes when Naruto smiled). Also, he'd never heard of a team having two sensei, unless one was injured. But even then, one was just an intern sensei until the other healed. Having two actual sensei... he wondered why.

"Why?"

His question was simple, but it drew the attention of both of his seniors. Kakashi looked to Gin to answer. "The Hokage thinks that Naruto'll be needin' extra trainin' in the future; trainin' only I can give 'im."

"Ichimaru has been away from the village for several years. Normally any special training would occur on one's own time, like the Hyuuga's Jyuuken or the Uchiha's ninjutsu. However, since Naruto was deprived of these lessons, the Hokage thinks it's a good idea to allow him to learn during normal training sessions." Kakashi said, now partaking in the conversation.

"So it's basically to catch up on what he's missed so far."

"Yeah, pretty much. Though who knows, maybe he'll teach you two some things too," Kakashi said with a smile.

Gin gave Kakashi what could be interpreted as a warning look. Kakashi knew that Gin had no intention of teaching anything to the others. Gin owed hardly anything to the village, so he had zero motivation for helping anyone else but his son out. But he let it slide this once.

"Tomorrow we have our first mission. Go home, get some rest; you're going to need it."

All three of them nodded and packed up their stuff. Gin walked over and placed an arm on Naruto's shoulder and led him away a bit. "I'm proud o' you Naru. Ya did good despite not havin' full team support. I'll let you have Ramen again for dinner, but jus' this once, got it?" Gin usually didn't want Naruto having Ramen for dinner, but rather have a more sustaining meal. Plus, there were other things in the world that tasted much better. Like ice cream! _'Ohhh~ that sounds good right about now!'_

Naruto's face lit up with excitement. "Yes! Ramen for dinner is the best!"

He was silenced as Gin leaned his head down and whispered in Naruto's ear. "But right now, ya should prolly escort Miss Hinata home."

Naruto gave his father a glare. Odds were he was going to be like this for a while.

Gin looked offended as Naruto's glare. "What? I's the gentlemanly thing ta do! You want her to know yer a gentleman, right?"

Naruto Looked away with an annoyed look on his face. But without saying anything, he turned around and walked up to Hinata. Gin couldn't hear what he said, but it looked like he _would _escort her home.

Gin knew what Hiashi expected him to tell Naruto. Escorting Hinata home was appropriate. He knew Naruto wouldn't understand nobility and its customs, so it would be best if he just told him to do things under the guise of being a proper gentleman. To be honest, Gin didn't care either way, but he was going to do his best to support Naruto's only other positive relationship. Despite how restrained Naruto was around Hinata, Gin knew it was good for him. Naruto _needed_ this more than he realized.

With that in mind, he watched as Naruto and Hinata left the training field, Sasuke doing the same soon after. Kakashi walked up to him once they were all gone. "Naruto did well. Much better than I thought he would. I guess grades can't show you everything about someone."

Gin gave an acknowledging nod. There was silence for a few seconds before Kakashi stretched and said, "Well, I'll be heading out then. See you tomorrow."

He was stopped from moving by Gin's hand on his shoulder. "Hold up now, ya still gotta pay up, Hatake-san," Gin said with an ominous voice.

Kakashi gave a sheepish smile and rubbed the back of his neck. "Um, yeah, you see, I kind of left my wallet at home, so I can't pay your right now…"

The look on Gin's face showed he clearly wasn't convinced. "Really? Tha's unfortunate. How're you gonna end up payin' me back then? Ya _are_ gonna pay me back, right?"

Kakashi laughed nervously. He was never going to hear the end of this if he didn't do something for Gin right now. But he didn't have anything he could give to him as collateral. Then an idea popped into his mind. He reached into his pack and pulled out a familiar orange book. He held it out to Gin, who took it and looked at its cover. Gin's silence pervaded the area until he looked up. "Vengeance appeased. I look forword to doin' business wit' cha again."

With that, he shimmered away with a flash of speed. Kakashi sighed, clearly relieved. He pulled out his own version of his Icha Icha Paradise and continued to read it from where he'd left off. "You really are a miracle worker, aren't you?" he asked his book rhetorically.

It was good that he always kept copies lying around.

* * *

In another place, a blonde haired woman walked among the maze of passage ways that was Seireitei. Her silver eyes shown with glinting light from the sun overhead.

"Well, I have paperwork to do, so I'll see you later," said her good friend. He had spiky black hair and three vertical scars running down his right cheek, and on his left was the tattooed number sixty nine.

"Already Hisagi-san? You always have to work these days," she said in response.

"Well unlike you, I don't slack off on my work, and besides, without a captain in our division, I end up with all the work. At least you have a captain to share the load. Anyway, I'm off." And he vanished in a flicker of light.

The woman sighed. Many times had she been left alone, allowing her thoughts to wander. And, as every time previous, her thoughts drifted to the one man who had captured her heart, and yet left it alone. _'Gin… What would you have said to me? Would you have told me to be diligent and work? No, you'd probably just wander off. Yeah, probably…'_ Rangiku looked at the sky, its unmarred, clear blue shade reflecting a perfect image of the very man on her mind, his smile present and his eyes unbearably secretive.

"Gin… why didn't you tell me? It would have been so much easier. If only you'd…" A tear rolled down her cheek. As she had whenever she thought of him, she wept silently, or audibly, for his death; his absence. It was too painful for her to keep remembering him, but so much more so to try and forget him. Gin had left an irremovable mark on her life in such a way that he probably never knew.

'_No. He probably did know, but never realized it.'_ Every time her birthday came around, she was reminded of the day he had found her.

"What would have been if you…?" She left the question hang in the air, as if expecting an answer. But even the image of him that she'd created in her mind had no answer. Instead, the phantom smiled wider and turned, walking away, out into the falling snow, fading into the haze until he could no longer be seen.

She wiped the water from her eyes and rushed back to her room, shutting the door and locking it. She walked over to her window sill and sat down. Hugging her knees to her chest, she wept bitterly.

* * *

**A/N: And there's chapter five. Hope you enjoyed it! I would have gotten it out last week but I lost interest during the training fight for a while before I got it back. Anyway, leave your reviews on the way out (I use that phrase a lot don't I?) and make sure their encouraging :D that's just my preference though, they don't have to be (but no flames!). I also have a new poll up on my profile! Check it out and vote!**


	6. Chapter 6: The Journey Begins

**A/N: Finally kicked my own ass in gear and got this thing done! Hope you guys like it! I just went through all my reviews for this story and I'm super happy to notice that they're all realy positive, minus one or two people who dislike it for aesthetic purposes. Though I don't want to jinx myself, so I'll get straight to the questions and acknowledgments!**

**So the genral consensus was that Rangiku is "poor" since virtualy every review had "Poor Rangiku" in it. Good to know my theatrics in literature are appreciated ^_^**

**Hmm, no particular questions except for one particular inquiry: Mendokuse means "(how) troublesome." its Shikamaru's trademark line.**

**Okie dokie to the reviewers! **lightningblade49**, **Skelo**, **Garudo 1 Talisman**, **Kouru-Kage**, **reven228**, **Chewie Cookies**, **Hypothetical Spiritual Entity**, **Orchamus**, **yukicrewger2**, **Zaralann**, **Vallavarayan**, **UlricGriever**, **OBSERVER01**, **Jikobu Mayakashi**, (blank),  
**Ninja Shinigami**, **Archivist**, **aliestrikehero**,** Devilsummoner666**,** Dragrako the Weaver**,** KitElizaKing**,** narutodragon**,** nycel**, **One of the Colorless**, and **hedwigfan**.**

**Quite a few of you this time! I hope to reel in more with this doosy! I know, its taken all summer. But what can I say, art can't be rushed. ENJOY!**

* * *

**Chapter Six: The Journey Begins**

Hitsugaya's feet thumped on the wooden floor as he strode across the high-rise balconies near his division's barracks. His wounds had healed nicely since the last fight he'd had with Aizen. Thankfully, he'd never have to utter that man's name again. Well, not for twenty-thousand years. He was tucked neatly away where he'd never get out until his sentence had been served. When he got out, well, Toshiro didn't know what would happen. But he also didn't need to worry about it. That was far into the future.

Currently, Seireitei had fallen into a type of a slump since Aizen's defeat. With no one to fight, except normal Hollows and no one to prepare to fight for, Soul Society had fallen back into the pace of normalcy… back like before that distant execution of Kuchiki Rukia.

The only difference was the absence of three of the divisions' captains. Kaname, Gin and Aizen, despite their status as criminals, left some pretty big shoes to fill. Even if Aizen was a villain and a deceitful man, he was a good captain, even if it was a disguise. Tousen was a great captain; one might even say one of the more honorable captains, loyal only to Soul Society and its customs. Of course that wasn't the case now, but if one thought back to those "old days" one would see only great men.

Gin… well, Gin was never really great at anything, but he followed the rules and kept his division together efficiently. Actually he was great at one thing; deception. Even Aizen, who deceived everyone else, was fooled by Gin's treachery. When Central Forty-Six heard of Gin being, in effect, a triple agent, they'd restored him to his status of Third Division Captain, and gave his legacy an honorable mention as being the man who helped bring down the millennia's most notorious criminal.

Speaking of the Third Division, Hitsugaya had noticed Kira hanging around both Matsumoto and Hinamori. He was good friends with both of them, and the Tenth Division Captain was glad he was able to comfort and be comforted by them both. He related to the both, firstly by being a fellow forsaken vice-captain like Hinamori, and by having close ties to Gin, like Rangiku. He'd been noticeably cheery when it was announced that Ichimaru's title had been restored.

And speaking of Rangiku, she'd been noticeably _somber_ in contrast since the end of the war. She'd taken Gin's betrayal hard, and his death, made all the more unbearable by the fact that he'd never really abandoned her or Soul Society.

Toshiro had decided to leave her alone for the time being, knowing she'd come around eventually. She just needed some time to grieve.

But that didn't mean he couldn't check up on her every now and again. It had been several weeks since the event, and he made sure to visit her every once in a while. Even so, he didn't really know what to say to her. She and Gin had a relationship he could never understand, though if he had to compare it to anything it would be like a romantic relationship but also like a big brother and little sister combination.

She never said much about him, and Toshiro still had some leftover dislike for Gin from the days preceding the start of the war. He supposed that she just didn't want to talk about it. That was fine with him, so long as she didn't take too long to come around. He still needed his vice-captain after all.

* * *

"NO! I won't do it! Not another damn one!"

Kakashi felt his eyebrow twitch as Naruto blatantly refused to partake in another D-rank mission. _'I suspected it was about time for this.'_

It had been a while since they'd begin doing missions, a few months probably. In the beginning, Naruto had been hesitant about doing common chores under the guise of "missions," but he eventually got into the groove of doing them daily after a little pep-talk from the Cyclops about every ninja starting out as a Genin and doing D-ranked missions. But while Naruto had suffered silently for the majority of the time, he'd recently begun complaining about becoming stronger, training and finding some action.

More than anything, Kakashi figured Naruto just wanted to fight someone.

In those past months, Naruto and Sasuke had grown semi-close, forming a type of rivalry with each other. Although they never called it that, it was a rivalry, and they treated it as such, always trying to outdo each other. Kakashi considered it might also have been a subtle attempt from Naruto to impress his little crush. Secondarily of course; he was pretty sure the blonde's attempts to one-up Sasuke were primary and impressing his girlfriend was secondary, mainly because she seemed impressed enough with Naruto's attempts to beat the Uchiha heir, if her adoring gazes at the blonde were anything to go by.

Now, she wasn't like that all the time, sometimes she looked exhausted with Naruto's infinite energy and trying antics. She did well keeping him in line though, suggesting he not do this, trim back on that, try doing this, work on that. If anything, the team really didn't need a sensei to handle them.

If anything she was simply letting Naruto know what was appropriate and not. Even so, the very fact that they were so close (obviously more so than normal teammates) and hadn't been interfered with by anyone from the Hyuuga clan surprised the Sharingan user. He'd figured they would try and stop them both from getting too close to each other (Hinata being who she was) but no. Nothing.

He'd posed the question to his partner in coaching, Gin, and he'd told him why that was. Naruto was in what could probably be called a probation period where the Hyuuga were contemplating the advantages of letting the two form a relationship and watching how it went. Though the situation seemed exceedingly tedious, he was willing to allow it, as long as he didn't find them making out during their practice sessions or anything like that.

Gin assured him that that probably wouldn't happen, but didn't deny that it was a possibility. What with Naruto's reluctance to be too informal with the girl and the girl's persistent, though slowly decreasing, shyness.

Gin also hadn't contributed much to the team except to throw in some neat quote or useful training concept. Kakashi had hoped he would do more, as he was sure Gin was highly skilled and intelligent. He could help all three of them if only he'd just contribute more. Alas, Gin kept true to his word and didn't interfere with Kakashi's training, even at his not-so-subtle nudges.

Every night when Naruto went home with the silver haired man, they'd take Hinata home, go out to eat, and head back to their little apartment. Every morning Gin would arrive early along with Sasuke and Hinata, Naruto arriving second to last, where they all waited for an hour or so for Kakashi.

Why Naruto arrived so much later than Gin, he didn't know though he was interested in finding out. But that was for another time.

The Hokage sighed as Naruto protested his offering of D-ranks. "Naruto, it's necessary for every fresh genin to have training, and that means you must do D-rank missions."

"But all I've _been_ doing is D-rank missions and I haven't learned _anything! _C'mon old man, gimme something exciting!"

Hiruzen sighed again and tipped the front of his hat down to cover his eyes. Though Naruto had formed a phobia of upper-echelon society members, the Hokage had always been casual around the boy, and Naruto saw him as a type of old grandpa. He even went so far as to call the Hokage such every once in a while. Because of that, Naruto would act around the old man in ways he never would act in public.

Though, Kakashi suspected if he were unbiased, it was probably necessary. Naruto didn't have any familial connections, and aside from his adoptive father, Sarutobi was the only other person Naruto cared about. He cared about Hinata too, but it was in a different way. Kakashi could only imagine what Naruto's life would be like without the three of them.

But even as necessary as he realized it was for Naruto to act out, it didn't stop the episodes from being very, _very_ tiring.

After several silent seconds, the old man gave a little huff of amusement and took a puff from his pipe. He looked up at the group of four with a wry smile. "Alright, I'll allow it this time. I'll assign you a C-rank mission."

Naruto face lit up like a light house. "Really? Yes! Finally something worthy of my skills!"

"But first," Sarutobi continued, causing Naruto to cease his celebration and look at him, "you must realize this isn't a one man decision. You also have to take into account the feelings of your team mates."

Naruto instantly dropped his head in shame as he realized he hadn't considered his friends' opinions. He'd just been wanting something new for so long he'd neglected their sentiments on the matter.

He tuned to the Uchiha and Hyuuga with a sorrowful, but pleading look, mixed up with an excited smile. "Wuddia say guys? It's something new and exciting, and we're more than ready for it."

Sasuke, for the first time in a long time, approved of his rival's desire. "I agree with Naruto. We're more than ready for this, and I'm also sick of doing those stupid 'missions.'"

Kakashi pulled out his pocket calendar and made a small note. It wasn't every day that Naruto and Sasuke's wills aligned.

Naruto then turned to Hinata, and it was clear by Naruto's screwed up expression that he didn't want to guilt Hinata into it.

The shy girl poked her fingers together and bit her bottom lip cutely. "I-I don't know Naruto-kun, I-I'm sure we could handle it, but…" She turned away slightly, nervous from the attention and unsure of how to answer. She wanted to say yes, both because she wanted to please Naruto and because she knew they were all probably ready for a C-rank, but not whether she herself could handle it.

She knew she had confidence issues, but she didn't know how to solve them. Being around Naruto had helped only a little, and not very much in the grand scheme of things.

"It's ok Hinata-san-"

"-chan."

"…If you don't want to do it then we'll wait until you're ready." Naruto said, ignoring Gin's not so subtle interjected whisper.

Although Naruto meant what he said with only the deepest respect and care, to Hinata, it was like she was letting him down. "B-but i-if you guys r-really want to take it, t-then-"

"It fine," Naruto said with a warm smile. "As a team it's our job to make sure every one of us is prepared to do the mission before we actually do it."

"Besides," Sasuke said with a slight smile, "now that we've been offered a C-rank mission, we can always come back for another one when we're all ready."

Hinata looked from Naruto to Sasuke, each of them equally understanding of her plight. She smiled shyly and averted her gaze. _'I-I guess I'm really lucky to have team mates who understand me,'_ she thought to herself.

Kakashi knew how lucky Hinata _really_ was, being a third party observer. Hinata had been trained into the ground, both physically and morally by her clan to make her an "appropriate heiress." Naturally, the Hyuuga weren't the most caring or compassionate individuals, so the fact that she was now surrounded by people who cared, either for or about her, was a big deal. Even if she didn't realize it fully.

After a few seconds, Hinata raised her head and looked fiercely into the Hokage's eyes. "We accept this mission Hokage-sama."

She spoke with such resolve and force, Naruto was momentarily taken aback, as was Sasuke. Neither of them had heard Hinata act with such resolution before. But just as soon as it appeared, it vanished and she sank back into her shy self, slightly embarrassed she'd acted out like that, but sporting a proud smile.

Sarutobi smiled at the young Hyuuga. She was just budding, both physically, emotionally, and in personality. It would take some work, but he was sure she would turn into a fine woman.

"Alright then Hinata, I'll give your team a C-rank mission. Let's see what I have here…" The old man rummaged around through the basket holding the C-rank mission scrolls. Even as the three genin's faces lit up in excitement, each in his/her own way, Sarutobi pulled out a small tan scroll with blue trim.

"Hmm, this one should be good for you three. It's an escort mission to take someone from here, back to his home. "

Naruto's face froze as he contemplated that. "Isn't that the same as babysitting except… moving?"

Kakashi shook his head at his student wearily. Somehow though, Sarutobi never seemed to get frustrated with the blonde. Sure he was stupid and sometimes overly obnoxious, but even when it looked like he'd finally blown the old man's top, he's surprise them all by smiling and encouraging Naruto. In the end, it only seemed to strengthen the relationship between the old Hokage and the boy.

Kakashi would have to ask how he did that at some point.

The Sandaime nodded to Naruto, knowing what he meant. "Yes it is kind of like babysitting, except you'll be _escorting _him. Escorting someone usually means there will be threats like bandits and thieves. It'll be your job to protect him from harm."

Kakashi looked to Naruto to see if he understood, and to his surprise, Naruto had a blank, but contemplative look, like he was surprised by something and was thinking about it. After a several seconds, Naruto's eyes lit up with newfound realization. "So when I escort Hinata-san home, I'm really making sure she makes it home safely?"

Sarutobi smiled and laughed at Naruto's analogy. "Yes Naruto, exactly like that! I'm surprised you made the connection," he said in a praising tone.

Naruto scratched the back of his head and gave his jiji a foxy smile. "Well, Tou-san told me it was proper to escort a woman home after spending time with her. I guess I just thought that meant take her home, not also protect her." He gave a bashful laugh and then realized what he said. "N-not that I wouldn't protect you if you got into trouble Hinata-san; I'd do that anyway!"

Hinata blushed at Naruto's explanation and felt a strange, warm fuzziness in her chest. _'Why do I feel embarrassed, but happy too?'_ she thought to herself. _'Is it because Naruto said he'd protect me, or-…'_

She was brought out of her mind when Sasuke asked, "So who is this guy we're supposed to protect, and where do we meet him?"

"Ah I'm glad you asked Sasuke-kun, he's right outside." Sarutobi looked beyond the gathered shinobi and called out, "You can come in now."

The door opened and they all turned to see their charge. He was an older man with gray hair and a sun hat. His eyes were half lidded and scrutinizing. One arm was propped against the doorway and the other held a near empty sake bottle, if the faint sloshing sounds were any indication. From the pink on his face, the overwhelming smell of his breath and his posture, it was clear that the man was drunk.

In fact his breath was so overwhelming that Naruto, who'd developed a strong sense of smell, immediately plugged his nose. Hinata, who'd learned from Naruto the same skill, retreated back a step and held her hand over his nose and mouth, using her other hand to lift her shirt to her face. Naruto had taught her that it's nearly impossible to smell yourself unless it's strong enough, but if you're overwhelmed by another smell, your own scent helps neutralize the other smell.

Sasuke wrinkled his nose at the odor and chose to breath out of his mouth for the time being.

The man merely huffed, ignoring, or rather, not noticing their reactions to his presence. "Ehhh? You squirts are all I get for protection? You guys don't look like you could even down a glass of sake."

"They'll be enough to get you home," The old Hokage assured the man.

"Well, they better. Listen up kids, my name's Tazuna, the super bridge builder! I expect you to get me home without a scratch even if you have to die for me, got it?"

Even though they knew he was drunk, first impressions were being made.

"He's a bit of a douche," Sasuke muttered under his breath.

To his credit, Gin agreed with him. "Tha's my line…"

"Alright alright, that's enough," The old man interjected before any more insults could be thrown. "You all leave this afternoon so go home, pack up and be at the gates by two."

They all turned and bowed, following their two sensei out of the room, brushing past Tazuna in the process. And by "brushing past" I mean put as much distance from him as they could even though it meant eating splinters from the doorway. _'The guy's just repulsive!'_

The thought was universal.

* * *

"Damn, outa sake. Now how am I supposed to pass the time?" Tazuna mused aloud as he turned his bottle upside-down to see if anything would fall out.

"Twiddle your damn thumbs." Naruto muttered under his breath, but loud enough to be heard by his fellows.

"N-Naruto!" Hinata half yelled, half whispered. "I-it's not p-polite to insult our e-employer." Naruto in response softened his gaze at her chide. "But…" he began, but then stopped as he knew she was right. Plus, he didn't want to disagree with her.

Sasuke, hearing them, crossed his arms "Even so…" He trailed off. The Uchiha definitely didn't care for his current charge; a drunk old man who talked too much. Still, he didn't suppose they would get into too big of a fight if the man pissed them off. A little intimidation went a long way.

Sasuke wasn't a talker; never was. Ever since Itachi killed everyone, he'd shut up like a clam. Although the only blessing (and subsequent curse) were the numerous females who felt it necessary to stalk him during, and outside of class. It was actually rather obnoxious to have a horde of girls fawning over you every day. Somehow it just became exhausting after a while.

But what was even more exhausting was watching Naruto and Hinata act around each other. She was irritatingly shy, never speaking unless spoken to, never rising to the occasion. For all the hype the academy gave about the teams being balanced, they did a pathetic job of matching personalities. But what irked him the most was that that shy, helpless little girl could shut Naruto up like it was nothing.

Sure he cared about both of them, sort of, but sometimes he just got pissed at them. _'Man, that boy's whipped.'_ He smirked visibly at the thought. It was true; If Hinata so much as looked at him with those coy, disappointed eyes and he'd deflate like a balloon and apologize.

If anything, the fact that Naruto didn't act like a man and stand up for himself was what exasperated him the most. In all likelihood, Naruto just didn't want to disappoint Hinata, and Hinata didn't realize she was controlling his personality so much.

_'How they thought dating was a good idea I'll never know.'_ That was another thing Sasuke wondered about. Neither of them had any outstanding physical attributes, so how they even noticed each other was a mystery.

Sure Hinata was "cute" in the strictest sense of the word. She was plain in the physical side, but her mannerisms gave of an endearing quality to them. And Naruto, while no more physical _fit _or good looking than himself, had a happy-go-lucky attitude that had its own sort of charm. But he never would have guessed that those qualities counted as dating criteria. _He_ definitely wouldn't have noticed those qualities if he was looking for a girlfriend.

He brought himself back to reality and found himself to be walking with his team away from the village. Apparently, his body had taken over while he was contemplating. As he came to, he picked up on Naruto and Hinata talking.

"So what did your dad say when you told him you had a C-rank mission?"

Hinata smiled happily, remembering what he'd said. "Oh! H-he said that he was p-proud of me for getting on a team that could do C-C-ranks already! I-If anything, I don't think he e-expected it." She dropped her head sadly. "He's been so d-disappointed in me l-lately… I-I guess he didn't think I'd a-amount to m-much."

Naruto looked at her sadly as she turned away from him.

Though it was a private conversation, everyone else was listening to them.

_'Geez,'_ thought Tazuna. _'These Konoha clans must be super uptight. She's only little girl after all.'_

Gin, was slightly disappointed in Hiashi, having expected better of him, but at the same time knew he wasn't entirely to blame. The clan wasn't ruled completely by the clan head, but also by a governing body of counselors. The clan head counted as a large amount of votes during a decision, but he can be overruled by the majority. That was why often times, clan heads populated the counselors seats with close friends who would back him up on big decisions. Unfortunately the Hyuuga weren't exactly know to be buddy-buddy with anyone.

No doubt the clan council expected too much from Hinata, and was consequently let down by her lack of progress or notable skill. Even though Gin said he wouldn't specially train anyone other than Naruto, he knew that he would probably have to make an exception for Hinata. He, no, s_he_ needed to prove her family wrong. _And_ she needed to prove herself wrong. After all the emotional degradation the Hyuuga gave her, she no doubt thought of herself as a failure, the same as those stuck up twats.

Naruto was silent for a while, not knowing exactly what to say. Sometimes he wished he had his dad's quick wit. It wasn't that he wasn't intelligent, but he sometimes just impulsively said things that, while straight from his heart, just weren't appropriate for the moment.

After a while Naruto smiled, knowing exactly what to say. "But you proved him wrong."

Hinata looked back at him in surprise.

"You're here, and doing better than he ever expected you'd do! So what's to be down about? You're doing great!"

Hianta's eyes widened, but then softened as she smiled, truly smiled at Naruto. Much like Naruto's smile, her eyes closed in the process, and though she didn't showe all of her teeth like Naruto did, her smile was so radiant that any observer could swear they saw the sun shine from her face.

Gin gave an unnoticed nod in praise of Naruto's words as Kakashi simply watched from beside his co-sensei.

The trip continued for several hours, six to be exact, but Naruto complained about it being "a zillion hours since we started. _Not that I'm tired!_ I'm complaining for the benefit of the physically unprepared, yeah!" He'd said it so many times, everyone else was beginning to believe it too.

But this concerned Gin. Naruto had trained for much longer periods of time before with him, so why was he so tired now? He had a few ideas as to why though, but all he could do is wait and watch the boy. He'd make his diagnosis when he had more symptoms. In the meantime, the sun had dropped below the horizon and they were just approaching a small roadside hot-spring with adjacent accommodations.

"Ne, Kakashi-san, I think it's 'bout time we think of turnin' in fer the night."

They all stopped as Gin proposed the idea, looking at Kakashi for the decision. "Hmm, I guess we can put off the twenty-four hour hike on hold for another day. We'll stay here for the night and leave tomorrow morning."

A round of cheers, mainly from Naruto, and a series of relieved faces from Hinata, Sasuke and Tazuna signaled the end of that day's journey.

They raced into the main lobby, taking their backpacks off and stretching their stiff spines as the adults took their time, with Kakashi heading to the desk to pay for rooms.

"Hey Gin-sensei, were allowed to use the baths right?" Sasuke asked as Gin walked in.

"Yeah, prolly. They come with the rooms right?" he said directing the question at Kakashi's back, who in turn asked the lady at the counter without so much as twitching. Kakashi threw a thumbs up several seconds later and Sasuke was on his way to the springs.

In the dressing room, Sasuke disrobed, followed by Naruto as he rushed in. Both grabbed towels and stuffed their clothes into bins on the walls. Naruto threw the towel onto the ground and jumped into the water splashing the hot liquid onto the stone ground.

Sasuke opted to restrain his excitement and simply walked out, taking his towel from his waist and tossing it onto one of the rocks above the water level. "It's a good thing no one else is here tonight, baka."

Naruto raised his head from the water, flipping his hair back in the process. "Did you say something?"

Sasuke smirked and shook his head. "What makes you think I'd say something to you?" He ignored Naruto's glare as he slid into the hot water, sighing contentedly. Kakashi was next out, still wearing his mask followed by Gin.

"Where's Tazuna?" Sasuke asked when the older man didn't come out.

"He's checking in early. A walk like what we did today is rough on a non-shinobi."

They all accepted that as Kakashi sank into the water. Gin paused and looked around. Through the mist, he spotted a red wooden wall. Towel still about his waist, he walked up to it, catching the attention of the three other men. Kakashi, knowing what the wall separated them from, called out to his companion with a concerned tone. "Oi, you sure that's a good idea? That's the women's side y'know."

Gin simply waved off the comment indifferently, though at Kakashi's remark Naruto turned and saw what his father was doing. In an instant he stood up and yelled pointedly at the silver haired man.

"What the hell d'ya think yer doin'?" He said, slipping into Gin's natural accent by accident. "Don't ferget my girlfriend on th' oth'r side, ya damned perv!"

Gin, who knew that very much, and internally proud at Naruto slip of the tongue merely turned his head from where he was supporting himself atop the wall with his elbows. With a wry grin (as always) he sized Naruto up. "Well, aren't you a big boy."

Naruto blinked at his father's statement, wondering where it came from. Sasuke, having opened his eyes from where he was dozing, being brought back to reality from Naruto's yells, immediately went saucer-eyed with a jealous glint in his comically white orbs.

Inside his mind, he recanted his earlier thoughts. Naruto did have _ONE_ advantageous physical attribute. One that sadly would remain engrained in his mind forever, no matter how much he wish he could forget it.

Gin hintingly pointed downward, to which Naruto directed his gaze. It took him a few seconds before he blinked and looked back up. "I don't get it."

This caused Sasuke to face-plant in the water, splashing water everywhere. Kakashi, with a tone that was a strange mix of bewilderment, jealousy, admiration, and surprise, simply looked at Naruto with a wide, but half lidded eye. "Naruto, most men aren't that big. Especially not kids your age."

Naruto looked at his sensei and the back down at himself. The seconds ticked by until he looked back up. "This is big?"

The comment was followed by Sasuke smacking his head against the stone floor several times. _'Stupid! Stupid! Of all things to be inferior to him in! Kuso!' _He comically cried anime tears, though only a few (he had his reputation to uphold after all).

Kakashi sighed deeply surprised stupor. _'Oh well, no reason to knock on the kid for being lucky.'_

"Yeah, that's big. For your age anyway… Hell, _especially_ for your age," Kakashi commented.

Naruto didn't seem entirely convinced. He gave his one-eyed sensei a skeptical glance. "You sure…? It doesn't seem that big to me. Not in comparison to some other people I've seen."

"And exactly how many other guys have you seen?" Kakashi questioned as he gave Naruto an unconvinced stare, knowing that Naruto was rarely allowed into the hot-springs in Konoha while other people were there. Truly, the boy couldn't have seen much at all.

Naruto opened his mouth to respond, but then paused as he had to think about it. "Well… um…" He looked down, sorting through his memories. "Well there was…no…"

He was silent for several seconds. In reality, he really hadn't seen anyone else to compare to, or if he had, hadn't had enough to think about comparisons. If anything, he supposed that with everyone in Konoha treating him like less than themselves, something must have wormed its way into his mind, making him believe he was inferior to everyone else. That concept in place, he just assumed he was small for his age.

Still, he couldn't exactly brag about it now that he knew the reality of the situation. He'd never used it before, so unless he just started immaturely dancing around boasting like any five year old would when they played "show you mine, show me yours" and found out they were the biggest, he couldn't really say much. He took some pride in the fact however, albeit he kept it internal.

So focused was he on his inner reflection that he didn't notice his dad had disappeared.

* * *

Hinata sat in the shallower end of the spring, alone with herself and her thoughts. The voices from the other side of the wall were too faint to be heard distinctly, but their tones sounded jovial. It was too bad she couldn't join them. Though she knew in her mind she'd never be able to handle being with three other men in the same spring, she secretly wished that the spring was communal.

Even though she didn't mind being by herself, having become used to it since she was little, she still craved human interaction. Being alone was great and all, but it paled in comparison to being with others.

It wasn't so much privacy she was worried about but her inhibitions. _'No no no! Those are dirty thoughts! Father would kill you for thinking that Hinata!'_ she thought, mentally berating herself.

If she had to be completely honest with herself, she was living two lives. One that acquiesced to every command and request given to her from anyone of higher and lower authority, bowing her head and speaking only when spoken to, and her secret _dark_ side.

She didn't like her more public image. She wanted to be stronger; she wanted to be bolder. She wanted to be able to shrug off what anyone thought of her. _'Like Naruto-kun does…'_

Add to it, there were two separate parts of that "dark side." One side was the unreleased, unfulfilled desires she had that she knew she could never do (like being energetic, rude, informal, lighthearted, carefree and all around honest with herself), and the side that was blended with her subservient side (shy, timid, weak, spineless, and inhibited).

But even though she called it her "dark side" she only called it that because it was what she was trained was "inappropriate" and "wrong." Even though her heart wanted so much to be free from all the rules and regulations that she was so harshly judged by, she simply didn't have the will to go against everything that had been so ruthlessly pounded into her.

It wasn't that she liked them. Quite the opposite; she hated it, but she also knew her "free" self would clash with her "insecure" side, which was a different element altogether. Her insecure self was not unlike her timid self, but much more reasonable. It wasn't necessarily influenced by everything she was taught or influenced by her cultural or social upbringing. It was simply a part of her; a manifestation of feelings based on current, immediate conditions.

Yes, she knew she was a mess. She was fairly certain that if anyone tried to read her mind or emotions, they'd collapse in a migraine-induced coma.

She let out a deep, mournful sigh as she hung her head.

"What's got ya down there, Hina-chan~?" A flowing and familiar voice sounded from behind her.

She jumped and held her arms to her chest as she turned to see her team leader leaning over the red wooded wall by his elbows. She was sitting halfway in the water, with the water level just a few inches above her naval.

"G-Gin-sensei!" she cried out as she saw him.

"Domo!" he greeted nonchalantly.

"W-what are y-you d-doing G-Gin-sensei?" she asked nervously blood rushing through her body by habit. Already her face was red, and Gin noticed her blushes extended far beyond her face. Her shoulders and upper chest were also beat red.

Gin merely gestured to her lonesome form. "I figured ya could use some company, bein' here all by yerself."

"B-b-b-but…!" She stammered out as Gin clambered over the wall, towel thankfully still wrapped about his waist.

She backed up into the deeper middle of the pool, sinking as low as she could, trying to hide herself in the water.

Gin just sat down next to the pool and turned perpendicular to Hinata, not looking directly at her for decency (though one could argue that since he never opens his eyes, there would be nothing to complain about). "Y'know, I'm sure the guys would enjoy yer company over there," he said in a completely serious tone.

"B-b-b-but I-I-I c-c-can't d-do t-that!" she stuttered out fearfully. "I-I'm… I-I c-can't…"

Gin turned to look at her as she looked away, no longer so much concerned about her predicament. His words had come straight from her heart. She'd thought the exact same thing just moments before. But when Gin voiced them, it was somehow harder to say no, and of course, she knew it was probably because she was trained to never say no to a superior.

After several silent seconds, Gin continued. "…Would you want to?"

In an instant she looked at him and rose out of the water a bit as if she were about to say "of course!", hands still crossed over her chest, but when she opened her mouth to speak, nothing came out, and she looked away, lowering back into the water a little.

Gin understood what that meant, even as Hinata tried to figure out a way to voice her mind. She _did_ want to, she just lacked the courage to say it, and _saying_ it was just the first step in _doing_ it.

Gin chose not to say anything at that. Even if he could voice every thought she wanted to say, it wouldn't make a difference unless she believed it enough to say it herself. It needed to be her choice.

And while others might criticize Gin for doing this for lecherous reasons, Gin could practically see Hinata's desires as a second Hinata, telling her physical self what she wanted, what she _needed_. Her desire was that great, yet it was stopped up by an even greater force of expectations and inevitable disappointment by those she considered her authority.

Gin knew very well what Hiashi would do and say if he saw him now, encouraging his daughter to disobey his teachings and expectations of an heiress to a clan.

The problem was that it was blindingly obvious to Gin that Hinata wasn't made up the same way Hiashi was. She was a bird in a cage, desiring to be free; to fly where she wanted and do what she wanted. But she was in a cage, covered in barbed-wire and spikes. She couldn't get out on her own. There were only two ways she could escape.

As soon as the door to the cage is opened in the very least, take it and escape. Or, as Gin was trying to do, bide her time before someone else comes along and opens the cage for her. It would be a combination of both of those concepts that Gin would try and enact.

For the sake of both her crushing soul and his son's happiness, he would do everything in his power to make their future together a reality.

"Well," he said after a few minutes of silence, "the offer stands." He got up and went back to the wall, preparing to climb over it again. But before he did he looked back to a silently despondent Hianta. "And Hina-chan…"

She looked up to him from where she was turned away. His smile had dropped at some point during the silence, but he gave her a warm grin as his soft eyes opened to cast their cyan reflection on her. Hinata hadn't experienced that kind of smile before, save once before with her mother.

The smile of someone who genuinely cared for her.

"...Don't beat yerself up. One day, th' door to th' cage'll be opened, an' you'll be able to fly with Naru-kun wherever you like."

She looked at him surprise, guessing the analogy he was making, but not realizing how much of an impact his words would make on her in the future.

"Jus' keep peckin' at those bars."

And those were his parting words as he stealthily clambered over the wall again and dropped down to the other side.

Hinata stayed still and silent for several seconds before she dropped her hands and moved back over to the edge of the spring, leaning against it tiredly and letting the hot water sooth her now calming body.

She closed her eyes and simply let the warmth envelop her body like a glove, invading every corner and crevice of her body. She imagined she was a bird and the warm waters lapping at her skin was really the gentle heat of the sun upon her feathers. The clear blue skies around her offering her an infinite haven to fly in, untouchable, untraceable, and uninhibited; being free to do what she wished, when she wished, with who she wished.

Even as she soared through the sky the shadow of another form, one above her, caught her attention. Her indigo feathers froze in awe as another bird; a falcon soared high above her, swooping in next to glide next to her. Its orange feathers flowed gently in the calming winds. It looked at her with the bluest, most azure eyes she'd ever seen with the most loving and caring gaze she'd ever experienced. She instinctively flew closer, next to it.

Before long, they were both joined by the other birds; a small obsidian crow that hung near to a gray hawk and above them both was a silver sparrow. Intuitively knowing each one for who they were, she felt her heart soar even higher than the sky. She had friends who supported her. She had comrades who cared for her. She had loved ones who protected her. She closed her eyes and let the warm sun bless her blue feathers, feeling the heat grow before she felt herself unable to breathe.

She woke up with a start she her body almost slid completely into the warm water. She blew out of her nose, clearing it of the water she'd unintentionally instinctively inhaled when she came to. _'I think it's time to get out of the pool.'_ She reasoned to herself sheepishly as she climbed out and lay down on the stone ground, feeling to cooler air bend over her naked body as it moved, as if aerodynamically massaging her with nature. She breathed in deeply and exhaled feeling her worries so much further away.

She recalled the brief dream she had fondly, making sure to carve it into her memories before they were lost to oblivion.

At last, as she felt herself begin to drift off again, she sighed as she realized she needed to get up and either wake herself up, or get into their room and plop on the bed and let slumber claim her.

But before she did, she looked around her carefully, examining every possible place someone else could be. Seeing no one, she walked over to the other side of the spring and turned around. With a sparing glance to the dividing wall, she took a breath and composed herself. With an excited smile she ran forward several steps and then jumped, leaping as high into the air as she could. She closed her eyes and felt the wind whipping past her, assaulting the curves of her form as she passed across the moving currents.

All of her senses screaming a type of exhilaration; her naked, exposed and indecent form sending strange, foreign, but enjoyable signals to her over-taxed brain. She was not being as she should have been. She was breaking the _rules._

And she loved every second of it.

She landed with a loud splash and reveled as her recently dried body was soaked again; the calming, caressing wind replaced by the aggressive liquid as it swirled around her, bubbles tickling every inch of her body. She floated there, suspended in the deeper water, held aloft by a mix of air-inflated lungs and body weight. She did not sink, she did not rise. She was static. And for an instant, she felt truly free.

* * *

Naruto got out of the pool, still looking at his manhood, and _still_ questioning whether or not it was bigger than average, to which Sasuke (now sick of having to repeat that it _was_ and subsequently admit his inferiority to the blonde) assured him it was and to shut up about it. Kakashi gave out a chuckle as he too got out and dried off, telling Naruto he was lucky, commenting on his good genes.

Gin grabbed his towel and rubbed his hair, soaking up the moisture that was left after squishing out all the water. Naruto opted to shake his head like a dog, flipping droplets of water everywhere before he used his towel to dry off his back.

It was an enjoyable evening for everyone, though Sasuke might disagree. They all dried off and put on a new pair of clothes feeling fresh and ready for a good night's sleep. When they left the dressing room, they were greeted by a strange sight. Hinata was walking around the lobby, examining the decorations, swaying with each step and humming a happy tune, hands clasped behind her back gently. Naruto and Sasuke blinked several times, both for different reasons.

_'Weirdo,'_ he thought as he sent her a "Sasuke glance," still rubbing his hair with a towel.

Naruto however was mesmerized by her sudden change in behavior. She seemed… Happy… Joyful even. Like a burden had suddenly been lifted from her shoulders.

Kakashi looked at her and shrugged before turning away. "C'mon Hinata, we're heading to our rooms now."

She turned in surprise at her sensei's voice, but unlike how she would normally stammer out an affirmative, she nodded and practically _skipped_ over to them, Naruto still unable to tear his eyes away from this… happy Hinata. She looked so much more like a girl her age should; bouncy and bubbly, but also sweet and caring.

Gin gave them both a grin as she walked up to Naruto, who numbly held out and arm to her, as if in a trance. Hinata stopped and looked down at Naruto's arm, and for a moment, hesitated. But after only a second, she gave a brave smile and linked her arm with his and they went off to their room.

There were two rooms rented out to them. Sasuke and Gin pulled the short straws and ended up with Tazuna, who they found snored like a bull. Luckily Gin had been clairvoyant enough to purchase a set of earplugs for both people who would have to bunk with Tazuna. He'd just hopped that he wouldn't need them for himself. Oh well.

Naruto and Hinata were going to sleep with Kakashi who opened the door for them as they walked in. He shook his head, amused by Naruto's gentlemanly decision to take her arm. "Ok you two, I know for a fact you get away with more when Gin's around, but let me just make it clear if I so much as hear a head board hit the wall tonight, there will be consequences."

They both looked at him, not understanding what he mean, before they connected the dots. The result was comical. Naruto and Hinata separated themselves from each other and a blush if indignation. Naruto began yelling at his sensei about how he was a gentleman and would never try something like that, and to the grey haired man's surprise, Hinata also defended herself, saying she wasn't like that and knew better, though with a slight stutter.

Kakashi noticed her stutter actually was a just a tad bit better than it was earlier that day. _'Hmm, maybe she's just getting comfortable with all of this.'_ Normally they had their missions, went home for the night, and then came back the next morning. This was the first overnight mission they'd had together, and being around all of her teammates for extended, unbroken periods of time was probably making her feel more relaxed.

But then Kakashi remembered the few minutes Gin had disappeared into the women's side of the baths and then came back. While Naruto and Sasuke may have been too oblivious to notice, Naruto understandably so, he'd seen it. Then he came back before either Naruto or Sasuke missed him. _'Then again, it's also possible he said something to her. I doubt he'll tell me though.'_

He came back to reality to hear Naruto still berating him for his earlier comment. "...could you expect me to do that? I especially wouldn't do it with _you_ in the room anyway!"

Kakashi chuckled and smiled at them both, raising his hands to calm them down. "Ok ok, calm down. I just had to make sure. After your recent discovery Naruto I had to make sure you didn't go- OOF!"

He was tackled to the ground by an orange blur who slammed into his gut and knocked him to the ground. "Shut up about that!" Naruto whisper/yelled in Kakashi's ear, though the force behind the order was lost somewhat by his massive red blush. Well on second thought, it could be pure rage. But when he saw Naruto's eyes blink between himself and Hinata, he was assured it wasn't. _'Nope, it's a blush.'_

Hinata confused by Naruto's antics, hesitantly asked, "W-what recent d-discovery?"

Naruto, clamping his hands over Kakashi's masked mouth, turned to Hinata with an empty, nervous laugh. "Hahaha! Oh nothing! Nothing really! Just a little something we found out that should never, _ever_ be spoken of!" he finished giving his sensei a hard glare and speaking through clenched teeth.

Kakashi blinked blankly in response. "Actually, it was anything _but_ little…" he was immediately drowned out by Naruto's laughing again. "HAHAHA! Nothing! Nothing to talk about! Nothing at all!" he assured Hinata as he practically sat on Kakashi's face. Had Hinata not been preoccupied by Naruto's attempts to keep the subject a secret, she would have thought the way Naruto was sitting was a lot like a canine; if he had a tail, she could have pictured him as a little fox, happily (or in this case nervously) trying keep its master quiet.

"O-ok, I-I'll take your w-word for it." She said at last, sparing Naruto any more discomfort. Even though it _was_ really cute. And with that thought came the torrent of rules and restrictions of what a proper lady thinks of and acts like, but which were surprisingly silenced as she spoke to herself. _'No! They may not be thoughts a Hyuuga heiress should be thinking, but they _are_ thoughts Hyuuga Hinata should be thinking! They're my own thoughts, not someone else's!'_

She shut her eyes tightly and repeated that philosophy over and over in her head, drowning out her demons by sheer determination. When she finally opened her eyes, she felt nothing on her conscience. No tug or taping, nor even any inkling that she was wrong.

_'Jus' keep peckin' at those bars'_ Gin-sensei's quote rang in her head. She inhaled deeply and exhaled sharply. _'Just keep pecking the bars, keep pecking the bars…'_ She thought to herself reassuringly. She was doing it! But she was meeting heavy resistance; resistance comprised of 12 years of borderline brainwashing. _'This won't be easy,'_ she realized, but as she thought about it, it _would_ be well worth it.

At length they all brushed their teeth and were ready to get dressed. "Hinata you can use the bathroom to change while we change out here."

She gave the Cyclops a nod and reached into her bag to pull out her night clothes. As soon as she opened her pack and looked in it, her face went so red she looked like a tomato and froze like a statue. _'W-what is that doing in here? I don't remember bringing it! How could that be here?'_

"You ok Hinata?" Naruto asked when she suddenly froze. She snapped out of her questioning trance and looked at the other two men in the room. "Ah, n-nothing, I-I'm j-just g-going to… y-yeah… b-be right back." And quicker than Kakashi had ever seen a girl move, she dashed past them taking her pack with her into the bathroom, the click of the lock following the slam of the door.

Hinata panted as she held her hands and back to the door, as if expecting someone to come barging in. The seconds ticked by before she finally moved forward and put her bag on the counter looking into it again.

_'I couldn't have made a mistake, I made sure to hide this perfectly. It was at the bottom of my drawer! I couldn't have grabbed it with my other clothes! I have to make sure nobody sees this!'_ She pulled out the contents of her bag and placed the item in question at the bottom of the bag, placing everything else on top of it.

Assuring herself it would never be found even if someone just looked through her bag, she pulled out her pajamas and disrobed.

She took off her pants and folded them up, placing them on the counter before slipping on her bottoms. Then, making sure the door was locked, she took off her jacket and laid it on the toilet cover. Reaching to the hem of her net-mail shirt that all shinobi wore she took it off. She blushed to herself as her breasts bounced free, having no bra on underneath. When she dressed after bathing, she contemplated not wearing any undergarments back to the rooms. Pecking the cage again, she put her bra in her bag and just put on her thread-mail shirt and jacket.

She had to admit; _it felt exhilarating!_

After a while, she got used to it and barely noticed, except for the phantom feeling of her missing bra and the friction of her shirt against her skin. Unknowingly to her she was growing bolder and bolder. She wasn't just pecking on her side; someone was also pecking on the other side of the cage. Not that she noticed.

She looked at herself in the mirror and let her mind wander where it formerly would never have allowed herself to go. Her body was nice. Smooth pale skin and curvy figure… She flipped her hair and made a cute cock of her head and folded her hands together in front of her covering her breasts. _'I wonder if it's ok to call yourself cute…'_ she mused, despite her heavy blush at her own actions.

Realizing she was in here for a reason though, she put on her PJ top and let the cool, light material cover her. She looked in the mirror again. She looked like a girl at a sleepover, which she assumed this little excursion could be called. It _was_ technically a sleepover after all. Taking her clothes strewn about the room, she gathered them up and folded them, placing them in her pack neatly, making sure to cover the unexpected item at the bottom.

Zipping it up she went to the door and hugged the bag to her chest as she walked out.

* * *

"I still don't get why girls take so long in the bathroom…" Naruto mused as he lay back on his bed. The room had three twin-sized beds with Kakashi being closest to the door Naruto in the middle. Kakashi flipped through another page of his book and agreed. "That makes two of us."

As soon as he said that the bathroom door opened and they both turned to see their teammate as she stepped out. Naruto blinked with wide eyes as she emerged.

She wore simple lavender pants that ended just above her ankles with a matching colored T-shirt, except the shirt had Hyuuga emblem on it the shoulders. But what caught his attention however was that he'd never seen Hinata dressed so… casually. She always wore that jacket and her pants, not much variety in clothes if you asked him, but he didn't exactly have room to argue.

She made her way across the room, bag still hugged to her chest, and her bare feet thumping on the rug floor. She placed her bag on against the wall furthest from the door and without fully turning toward them, peeled off the covers and slipped under them.

Naruto at that point, with much effort, ripped his eyes from her in case she looked over and caught him staring.

Kakashi closed his book with a thud and laid it on the nightstand next to him. "Yosh, we have a big day tomorrow, so let's get some sleep." He reached over and turned off his light, as Naruto did the same. The room was blanketed in darkness and the only sounds were the rustling of sleepers getting comfortable. Hinata blushed as she rolled to face the far wall. She held one hand to her chest as the other slid under her pillow, feeling it's cool fabric on her skin.

The chill material that surrounded her felt incredible after so much heat, courtesy of her blushes, especially after walking to her bed. She'd contemplated putting her bra back on under her shirt since she was in mixed company but, with yet another peck on the cage, she decided against it. It was very uncomfortable to sleep in a bra, and she didn't care to fidget all night in an attempt to find the one comfortable position that would allow her to fall asleep.

But the reason she was so nervous was because her shirt was thin enough to see the outline of her breasts and even, possibly the indentation of her nipples against the shirt. She was pecking the cage, but she wasn't taking a sledge hammer to it. She wasn't quite ready for that level of rebellion. She also had to be comfortable with it. _'It'll probably take a few years before I reach _that_ level.'_ She smiled to herself though, happy that she'd been able to do _this_ much after Gin-sensei talked to her.

Gin had chiseled a place for her to start pecking, and she was determined to peck with all her capable might until she was free. Free…

And so she drifted off into the unbounded land of dreams and desires, carrying her wish with her into its open skies.

_'Free…'_

* * *

"Hitsugaya Toshiro reporting."

"Enter," came the old wizened voice of the Captain-Commander from the other side of the door, which opened hastily and allowed the white haired captain in.

He walked into Yamamoto's office, which was really just an open room with a large balcony that took up the entire "wall" opposite the door. Off to one side was the old man's desk. He stood in front of it and bowed to the bald, scarred man.

"Histugaya Toshiro. There's been a disturbance in the Dangai world that I would like you to look at."

"The Dangai? What kind of disturbance?"

"Foreign Reiryoku has been leaking into the Dangai that is disturbing the Kōryū," the ancient captain said, referring to the current that is constantly flowing through the Dangai.

"Do we know where the Reiryoku is coming from?"

"It is your job to help find that out. It's possible someone is pouring their reiatsu into the Dangai intentionally."

"if that's the case, couldn't we identify it?"

"Kurotsuchi Mayuri is attempting to do so as we speak, but so far he hasn't come to any definitive conclusions. In the meantime, as he working on identifying the source of the excess reiryoku, it will be your job to find the source's location."

Toshiro was silent for several seconds before he spoke again. "If that's the case, would just myself and my vice-captain be enough to find it?"

"Decide that for yourself, but know that to find the source, you will need someone of vice-captain and above sensory capabilities. I do not presume it will be easy to find, considering the size of the Dangai, so take as many as you find. If you can enlist any other captains, brief them on the situation."

"Yes sir." And with that he took his leave.

On his way back to his barracks, he talked to several captains and vice captains, but each one of them seemed to be busy. Save Kenpachi, but Toshiro thought it best to leave the crazed fighter to his napping. Not that he'd be much good with sensory missions anyway. He got lost navigating his home Seireitei, how useful could he be in the Dangai?

So ignoring him, he made his way back to his office. Naturally he didn't knock, so when he opened the door to find a sleeping Rangiku on his couch, a tick mark appeared on his head. "Matsumoto."

Nothing.

"Matsumoto."

Again nothing.

Sighing, he walked up to her slumbering form and bent down to her ear. "MATSUMOTO!"

In an instant she was wide eyed and bushy-tailed as she snapped her head up fast enough to get whiplash. She looked at her captain and groaned in a, what a grown man would consider "cute" way, but to Toshiro, it was just annoying.

"Taicho, you should really knock before you come in. You startled me!" she said as she pulled her shirt back together from where her twins slipped out slightly.

"I shouldn't need to knock to come into my _own_ office. Not get yourself together, we have a job from the so-taicho."

Rangiku gave him and curious look. "Hm?"

"Apparently something or someone is pouring their reiryoku into the Dangai, and the captain-commander wants us to check it out and find where it's coming from."

Ragikug thought about it for a minute and stood up walking over to the window behind and slightly to the right of Toshiro's desk. She approached it and sat on the window sill, propping a foot up on it and wrapping he hands around the raised knee.

"I dunno…"

Toshiro looked at her and sighed. "You're going to have to get back to work sometime, might as well be now. Come on, I need your help on this."

She looked at him sadly. "Why can't you get any of your other 18 officers to help you? They're all capable."

"Because unfortunately this mission requires you have at least vice-captain sensing skills, and unfortunately everyone else is busy."

She let out a sigh and looked back out the window. "I suppose."

"Good, then grab your stuff and meet me at the Senkaimon in ten minutes."

He grabbed some papers and left, closing the door behind him. She turned from the now empty doorway and looked back out the window into the sky of Seireitei. "I wonder…" She pondered aloud.

"…will the pain ever go away?"

* * *

The buzzing sound of the alarm clock wok Kakashi up instantly. He opened his eye and rose to where he was sitting up in bed. "Wait a minute…"

He looked to his left and his bed, eye level with him. "…I never fall out of bed," He commented to himself quietly.

He lifted himself up, bending stiff joints and looked even further to his left. Naruto was snoring soundly, and slightly bucking his hips into the bed every few seconds. Not violently, but just every once in a while. Kakashi looked over to see Hinata beginning to stir. Looked left and right he reached over and gave Naruto a flick behind the ear, effectively waking him up. _'He'll thank me later.'_

Naruto gurgled out a "what the hell" in a barely understandable fashion only for the one-eyed Cyclops to point to the blaring clock. Naruto dropped his head back to his pillow and absentmindedly began smashing the poor clock into tiny, little, not-able-to-disturb-my-sleep-again pieces.

But despite its destruction, he pushed himself up with both hands, stretching like a cat and yawned before climbing on all fours off the bed.

Hinata yawned cutely and rose up as well, sliding out of her bed on the side facing away from the men, the fact that she still wasn't wearing a bra a faint, but acknowledged voice in her mind.

Kakashi stretched his limbs, and put his long sleeved blue shirt over his blue tank-top that he slept in. Standing up and cracking his back he pulled his pants on over his grey sleeping-shorts, leaving him almost fully dressed. Just his headband, shoes, jacket and gloves and he'd be ready for battle.

Naruto on the other hand was wearing only a pair of dark green and black plaid boxers and a black T-shirt. But, while he'd normally be worried about modesty around Hinata, obviously couldn't care less in his sleep-deprived state. He grabbed his pants on the way to the bathroom and closed the door behind him.

Hinata heard this and decided not to move and merely stretch her limbs until Naruto got out.

After several minutes, she grabbed her bag from the side of the bed and waited for Naruto to come out. And out he came, moderately dressed and hygienically prepared for the day, cinnamon fresh on his breath from his toothpaste.

Kakashi got up grabbed his little orange book. "Took you long enough."

Naruto gave him an indignant shrug and left the doorway. But just as Kakashi was about to walk into the bathroom an indigo and violet blur intercepted him and closed the door with a click. Kakashi stood there blinking before he sat down to wait again. Naruto had nearly fallen over with the speed Hinata had rushed by him, and stood their leaning against the wall with his hand with wide yes.

"Damn she's fast."

Kakashi opened his book and nodded, slightly annoyed. "Apparently."

Naruto collected himself and went over to his bag, pulling out his clothes. He grabbed a grey T-shirt and used it to replace his black on he had one currently. Atop that he put on a green vest, not unlike a chunin's vest, but with considerably less pockets. He zipped it up and fluffed his black pants as he put his shoes on, pulling the ends of his pant-legs over the top of his tabi.

Reaching under the bed, he fumbled around for a bit before pulling out his Zanpakuto. Grabbing the sash tied around it, he untied it and bound it around his waist. Pulling it taught, but not uncomfortably so, he looked himself in the mirror.

"Perfect," he commented to himself. Sadly the only orange on his body was the handle of his sword which kind of made it stick out like a sore thumb. _'Oh well, nothing I can do about that.'_

At length, Hinata came out of the bathroom dressed in her usual outfit.

Kakashi looked around for anyone or anything that might try and beat him into the bathroom. Seeing none he went to the door and pushed it open.

Only to be beaten by Sasuke who slipped in before him. "Toilet's clogged," was his explanation before the door shut.

Kakashi turned around looking like a dejected puppy and sat back down on the laughed and Hinata giggled at the poor jounin's predicament. "Hey Hinata-san, wanna go see if they have any food to eat?" Hinata nodded and they both left the room, making Kakashi feel even more alone.

After a minute Sasuke came out ready for the day. Kakashi got up _again_ and pushed the door open. When he saw Gin open the room door he simply pointed at the man like a father might a disobedient child.

"No."

And he closed the door behind him, locking it.

Gin looked to Sasuke who was still fastening his belt. "Ehh, I'm missing something aren't I?"

Sasuke gave an indifferent shrug and squeezed past his other sensei and walked into the hall.

* * *

**A/N: And there you have it! Chapter Six is COMPLETED! I feel good inside, don't you? I attempted to add more humor to this particular chapter to see how it would work, but I need YOU to tell ME if it DID by REVIEWING. Get IT? Good! Now run along little readers and leave your comments on the way out!**


	7. Chapter 7: Mistakes

**A/N: HAHA! SURPRISE! Didn't expect me back so soon did you? Well, I am, since I'm having trouble stopping writing. Meh, You can't complain can you? Well I can! Curse you all for encouraging me with your positive reviews! Moving on. No questions this time around, but some nice comments. And as for the "item in question" last chapter, I will not reveal it untill after the wave arc :) Trust me; I HAS PLAN!**

**So moiving on to the review recognition, we have **Solvdrage, reven228, pyromania101, Tikitorch559, Orchamus, The Darkest Edge, Van der Ay, cmcwiki, KitElizaKing, Yin7, Skelo, Chewie Cookies, One of the Colorless, Rising Solstice, Hypothetical Spiritual Entity, Xardoth, Zaralann, Ten Wings, Hee-Ho Master, **and **KantonKageX.** Glad to see they enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!**

**Thank you all for your uplifting reviews! I was originaly going to make this chapter MUCH much longer than it is now (over 40 Word pages), but I decided I might as well save that for chapter 8 :P **

**So Enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter 7: Mistakes**

Naruto and Hinata rushed to the lobby where a there was a small café. Grabbing some boxed ramen, Naruto immediately set to free the entrapped starch from its plastic bars. Hinata looked at the few choices of food, and her stomach growled loudly at her, plainly making the case that it didn't like to be kept waiting. Realizing it wasn't best to keep her pallet waiting, she grabbed a small plate and put some treats on it, along with a fruit or two.

Naruto was heating his ramen and Hinata had sat down by the time Sasuke arrived in the lobby as well, looking at the food set up. Grabbing some onigiri, he sat down at a table beside Hinata's, having correctly guess that Naruto would want to sit by her.

"Geez, Naruto, don't you ever eat anything healthy?" he said, taking a bit of his rice ball.

"Oh sure!" Naruto said without turning from his microwave. "I eat healthy stuff all the time, but my absolute favorite is ramen."

"Uh-huh…" Sasuke murmured as if he didn't believe a word of it.

Hinata ate her own rice ball as well, chewing thoughtfully as she stared out the window next to her. She didn't know how long she simply stared out the clear glass before Naruto sat down and dug into his cup of steaming ramen.

Naruto mumbled something that Hinata loosely translated at "You like cinnamon rolls?"

"Y-yeah." She grabbed the roll on her plate and bit into it savoring the taste. "I love cinnamon rolls," she commented assertively.

Naruto swallowed the rest of his broth and looked at her. "I like them, sometimes, but too much of it just makes me sick."

Hinata looked at him surprised. "R-really? I would have e-expected you to have the b-biggest s-sweet tooth Naruto-kun. I can eat d-dozens of them!"

Now Naruto looked at her surprised. But then with a grin and a cocked eyebrow, he looked over at the counter and then back at her. "Then why don't you?"

She frowned at him and glanced away. "I have to w-watch my weight N-Naruto-kun, y-you don't want me to get f-fat do you?"

Naruto was silent for a few seconds as he smiled and looked away. "Wouldn't matter to me anyway."

Hinata looked at her boyfriend. "Really?" she asked hesitantly in surprise.

Naruto let out a chuckle. "Well, if you really lo- I mean like the person, weight doesn't make a different."

Sasuke groaned as Naruto almost let slip the "L word." Not for the fact that he almost said it but for the fact that he _didn't_ say it.

"Oh my god, just tell her you're friggin' in love with her already!"

Hinata wasn't deaf to his mistake either, and at Sasuke's exclamation, felt her eyes widen in surprise. _'L-love? D-does Naruto really love me?'_ she questioned herself, unable to believe Naruto's feelings had progressed that much.

Naruto whirled at Sasuke and shouted loudly, "S-shut up teme! I'm not nearly at the l-love point yet! I'm still in the "like" stage!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes and sipped from a tea cup. "Yeah, sure you are."

"I said shut up! What d'you know about l-love anyway?"

"Enough to recognize it." He stated bluntly as he rose from his seat, hands in his pockets and sly grin on his face. "Either you tell her you love her or I will."

Hinata was taken aback by Sasuke's words to a degree she never thought she could reach. _'D-did… Did Sasuske just say he loved me?'_ she thought with astonishment. Naruto, too provoked to be surprised, raged at his Uchiha rival.

"Love her? There's no way 'n hell _you_ could fuckin' love her more than me! You better back off bastard or I'll teach you the real meaning of pain! Ya get me?"

Sasuke's smirk didn't slip. "So you _do_ love her?"

"Of course I fuckin' love her! What the hell are you? Blind? You'd have to be to think I wasn't in love with her!"

Sasuked made a sound in his through, unfazed by Naruto's rage. "H'n. Just making sure."

Naruto blinked, looking at Sasuke for a few seconds before he physically and mental cringed as he realized what he'd just admitted, and in whose presence he'd admitted it.

As far as Hinata was concerned, her mind was blank with both happiness and shock. First off all the vehemence with which Naruto admitted- strike that, _declared_ his love for her left her speechless. If Naruto said he loved her then that meant that whatever Naruto considered love, he was at that point.

To her amazement when she tried to speak, her breath caught in her chest, not allowing her anything other than garbled initiations of syllables she wished she could complete into words. But her trauma simply wouldn't let her, and once she saw the black shapes at the edge of her vision she knew it was inevitable that her consciousness would fail her.

And almost immediately after the shapes appeared, her vision darkened and she felt gravity takes its course as she fell to the floor. Her last sight before she drifted off was one of Naruto immediately catering to her worriedly, his mouth moving but no sounds entering her ears. Her final thoughts before left the conscious world were simple, surprise and joy.

_'Naruto-kun… loves…me…'_

When she awoke, her eyes remained shut, heavy with fatigue. Where the fatigue came from she didn't know. She tried focusing on what was going on around her with her other senses; remember Naruto's training on sensory focusing. She was bouncing up and down a little bit every second and each bounce was accompanied by the rustling of grass.

_'I'm being carried,' _she realized. Getting a sense for her positioning, she felt a pressure on the side of her head, as well as on her back just below the shoulder blades and again on the underside of her knees.

She kept her eyes closed as she was carried, apparently bridal style to their destination. Though she did hear what she thought to be discreet snickers every now and then, the group was surprisingly quiet; no teasing or shouting like she'd expected after the incident this morning.

Which reminded her…

_'Naruto-kun loves me!'_ The realization was followed by a mental squeal that came out in the real world as a sleepy moan.

"Looks like she's coming to," came the announcement from Kakashi.

Realizing she should probably stop playing dead, she opened her eyes and found herself snuggled deeply in Naruto's arms, her head pressed comfortably into Naruto's chest. Realizing her current predicament relative to the one who'd just so vulgarly expressed his love for her didn't help in keeping her conscious. She was about to faint again when, miraculously, her body instinctively shook it away, leaving her perfectly awake and capable.

She looked up at Naruto's face, which was now directed down at hers. "N-Naruto-kun...?" she mumbled out. Naruto blushed and averted his gaze, remembering why she was in his arms in the first place.

"Y-yeah, h-how're you feeling, Hinata-san?" It was painfully obvious he was embarrassed after having slipped something he never wanted her to hear. Yet, anyway.

Hinata however, despite her external composition, was a zinging pinball inside. It was what she'd always wanted after all, after watching Naruto for so long in the Academy and never being permitted to have anything more than minimal verbal contact when in public… And she knew Gin would permit (and in fact actually proposed) "boundary pushing" while together on missions, she wasn't so sure about Kakashi.

Would he snitch on her and Naruto to her father, or not?

Being honest with herself, she supposed they were lucky with what they got away with back in Konoha. Every once in a while they would share a hug, though it was nothing more than cordial, knowing they were being watched by Hyuuga guardians.

When together outside of the village Gin had permitted them to hold hands, knowing that Hiashi would trust him on out-of-village excursions. But even then, they both felt nervous and way too self-conscious to actually enjoy the slight physical contact. But it didn't matter; she relished every bit of time she could get with him.

She'd been so scared during the Mizuki incident that Naruto really was going to die. Though Naruto never actually told her, he _did_ die for a while there. She just assumed he was playing dead with a grievous wound. But even so, the feelings she never thought she had rose to the surface with a vengeance. Up until that point, she'd admired him, even liked him a little.

But once his shield of properness and low self-esteem caused from her title as Heiress to a noble clan, and from the general village opinion of him dropped, and she realized that out in that forest, with no rules or regulations, nor expectations to hinder her mind, she really did care for Naruto in a way that far surpassed "liking" and "admiration."

She loved him too. In her own way, she adored him, not for his looks, but for who he was and what he stood for. And that to her, _was_ love. Conversely, Naruto loved her for who she was, not necessarily the way she looked. It may have started out with a simple crush on someone he knew he could never have, but since her father's pseudo-blessing on their relationship, it developed into much, much more.

Naruto cared about her like a sister, but loved her like a woman. He was willing to do just about anything for her. Though as Hinata thought about it, it was probably because he was afraid of losing her. And even though she knew it was impossible for him to lose her, she'd need to let him know that personally. And soon.

"I-I'm fine Naruto-kun, t-thanks for carrying me," she said as he let her down. She stood on shaky legs, her muscles stiff from being held, and the circulation in one of her legs flowing again from being slightly cut off. However, the shakiness was also probably due to her fluttering heart at Naruto's recent revelation.

A secret desire she never thought would be brought to reality; her own treacherous mind speaking disparaging untruths of inadequacy, unpopularity, and circumstantial impossibilities.

She wasn't as pretty as other girls. Why would he love her? She wasn't as smart or desirable as other girls. She didn't flaunt her body like the other girls did, and that was what got boys interested in them, right? So why would Naruto want her, who showed nothing? And she could never think of actually showing anything because that would be "inappropriate" and "whorish" in the eyes of her family, who judged her so harshly.

And speaking of her family, there was no way they would _actually _let Naruto date her to the point of love. They'd never let them marry. They'd cast him out for his lack of social standing or noble blood. There was no advantage to them if she and Naruto ended up together, so why bother?

Such were the poisonous and acidic doubts that shadowed the corners of her thoughts, never letting her forget the _reality_ of the situation.

But in the wake of Naruto's surprising and abrupt declaration, all those shadows were cast into light, shoved behind boxes and boarded behind locked doors. They were wrong. They were irrelevant. In her tormented mind, the power of love could cast away any doubting phantoms.

"N-Naruto-k-kun," she began nervously, bringing him closer to her so she could whisper in his ear.

He gave her a curious look as he leaned in to hear. Working up her courage, she brought her lips to his ear and spoke. It was a simple sentence. She wanted to speak with him in private later. It wasn't bad, or damning. But the look on Naruto's face flashed an expression of worry. Would she deny his love? Would she not like him anymore?

But as she pulled back from him, her blush and nervousness kept her from showing any joy in what she would tell him later. However, a faint, miniscule, upwards twitch of her lips at her imagining how happy Naruto would be when she would speak to him put the blonde at ease.

If she had bad news, she wouldn't have smirked there, even if it was as small as it was. And it left the blond with a reassured peace. He knew, but didn't fully realize what she would speak to him about. Like when a family member tells you not to look in the freezer on your birthday. You know there's cake inside, but you're still surprised when they pull it out for the party.

He let out a breath of air he hadn't realized he'd been holding and nodded to her softly, smiling at her brightly.

She smiled as well and averted her gaze, pushing her fingers together nervously as she began contemplating what she would say exactly when the time came.

"Can we keep moving? You ninja are slower than cows, geez." Tazuna's impatient voice broke them from their reverie and they blushed, looking away from each other as Kakashi gave the silent order to keep moving.

"Well reach the Land of Waves by mid-afternoon to early evening, borrowing any unforeseen circumstances," the jounin announced. He was tempted to tease the two some more but chose against it. Something in the back of his head was telling him he shouldn't say anything.

So he continued on, Sasuke beside him with a superior smirk plastered on his face and hands sunk into his pockets. Gin also had his arms in his pockets but not quite so deeply as Sasuke, his border-line black, dark green shinobi outfit rustling gently in the slight breeze as he brought up the rear. Things were going well, for both the mission and his son.

But the biggest trial for Naruto was ahead. He was going to get Naruto working on communicating with Shinsō, and since they were the same Zanpakuto, he was certain Naruto would have a hard time of it.

But that was for later. Even if they were just defending the old drunkard from bandits and thieves, he still needed to be aware. Stretching out his senses, he detected on animal life in the surrounding forests.

_'Wait a minute…'_ There _was_ something. It felt like two people nearby, attempting to hide their presence by staying close to each other.

Gin frowned internally at the hidden threat. He raised his hand to his neck and cracked it. Naruto, hearing the crack, turned to his father and nodded, understanding the signal. Gin had taught Naruto long ago that he never cracked his neck, so if he did, Naruto would know something was wrong.

Naruto turned back to the front and readied himself as inconspicuously as possible. He inched over to Hinata and gave her a slight tap on the hand causing her to look at him. As soon as she saw his serious face, she knew something must be wrong. _'Naruto's sensed something.'_

Hinata activated her Byakugan. There was a concentration of chakra in a small pool of water up ahead. Inside, she could see two ninjas, clearly ready and waiting for them to walk by.

She subtly gripped Naruto's middle finger of Naruto right hand between the middle and index finger of her right, squeezing twice.

While this might seem to be (and indeed was) a cute, sensual action between two people, it was also a signal she and Naruto had worked out several months ago and perfected in the recent weeks. A complex series of commonly minute or normal actions comprised a vast system of signals that allowed the two to literally talk without speaking.

Similar to the ANBU communication signals Kakashi told them about, they took the basics of the design and improved upon it, making it much more personal and unique to just them. An ANBU familiar with the system might be able to discern some of the meaning, but never understand just how deep the meanings of each signal were.

And both of them wanted to keep it that way.

As they neared the small puddle, Kakashi gave a look at it and immediately saw through it. A puddle of water, on the ground in the sun, and it hadn't rained in a week. Riiiiight…

Out of everyone, Sasuke was probably the only one not ready for the impending attack (baring Tazuna).

Their footsteps never broke rhythm as they walked up to it and past it. But even so the two aware genin's hearts pounded in excitement, knowing the attack would come from behind.

And then, with a spike of chakra, the two brothers attacked. With admirable speed, they leapt out of the deception and wrapped a spiky-link chain around Kakashi, deeming him the primary target.

"First."

With an immense show of force, they both pulled on the chain, constricting around the one-eyed jounin and ripping right through him. All three genin looked on in terror as they saw what remained of their sensei fall to the ground in sickening sloshes.

Despite their terror, they steeled themselves and counter attacked. But the two hostile ninja didn't seem to even know they were there. Instead, they charged for Gin, flanking him to bisect him.

In calm, smooth manner, Gin drew his sword and pointed it between the two incoming enemies. As they zipped past him, he only gripped the handle of his sword tight and smiled.

"**Ikorose, Shinsō.**"

To the brothers' shock, the seemingly miniscule blade shined silver before shooting forward. They both laughed as they made to encircle the captain. "Ha! What's that supposed to do, huh?"

Clearly the fact that the blade was shot between them both put them in an overconfident state, which they remained in until they felt a tug on their chain. With a grunt, they both looked back to see the spear-like blade was jammed in the hollow center of one of the links.

Their eyes widened as the sword's extending power overcame their charging force, yanking them backwards with enough power to dislocate their arms.

Fortunately the pain in their arms didn't cloud their battle judgment. "Gah! Cut the chain!" With a metallic clank, both of them severed the chain from their gauntlets.

In an instant they slid to a stop, still on their feet and rushed forward again, bearing their poisoned claws dangerously. Already Gin's blade had retracted back to its original length, and to their surprise, he sheathed it. "Giving up won't spare you!"

But they were both silenced as they were tackled to the ground by two blue and white blurs. Sasuke grabbed one by the neck swung over him, spinning as he did, trying to snap the assassin's neck. But the man was expecting that and flexed his neck muscles as hard as he could the other way. Sasuke smirked regardless, and before the killer knew what was happening, his face was three inches deep in the ground. He didn't even twitch.

The other rolled with the force, kicking off the girl who'd hit him, slashing her on the arm with his claws. He picked himself up and looked to his brother, only to meet the furious face of a blonde haired kid, arm cocked back as far as humanly possible.

"RAAGGH!"

Naruto slammed the poor ninja in the face so hard he was sent reeling back, blood spurting through his mask with the force. His movement was stopped when he hit something solid, but moving. His eyes widened as he turned around to see the first ninja he'd killed standing calm and perfectly fine.

He was about to cry out before Kakashi gave him a sharp whack to the neck, causing him to fall to the ground wheezing in pain gasping for air.

As he kneeled there struggling for breath, Naruto walked up behind him, drawing his sword in the process. Kakashi's eye widened as he saw the boy's face as he unsheathed his blade.

"Naruto, wait!"

Ignoring his sensei he raised his sword arm high into the air and brought it down…

…The pommel of the hilt smashing into the young shinobi's cranium, causing him to fall to the ground unconscious.

Kakashi breathed a sigh of relief, for two reasons. Firstly, they needed this one alive to get information from him, and secondly, Naruto was too young to be a killer yet, no matter what Gin might be training him (since he honestly had no idea _what_ that man was teaching the young jinchuuriki).

Naruto begrudgingly sheathed his sword and crossed his arms, looking very, very grumpy. "I know I know, we need this one alive. I get it." He didn't _need_ to kill this one, and fortunately realized it. Even if he felt like it, he knew it was necessary that he live... for now.

But even as he grumbled silently, realization hit him; he was angry for a _reason._ He looked back to where Hinata had fallen and saw her leaning against a tree, cradling her cut arm. He rushed over, kneeling next to her and tenderly holding her arm out to examine.

"I-it's just a scratch," she mumbled out trying to pacify her boyfriend. It was actually three scratches running lengthwise down her forearm. Just deep enough to leave scars if not attended to.

Kakashi bent down and ran a finger across the sharpened end of one of the assassin's claws. There was a black substance that came off on his digits. Odds were it wasn't grease. "A scratch infected with poison." He announced at her comment.

Naruto looked at his sensei and then back at Hinata's arm. Immediately he raised it to his mouth and sucked hard. Hinata was too shocked/worried to move when his lips met her skin. But just as soon as she asked herself what he was doing, her survival training came to the forefront of her mind and she realized he was sucking out the poison not… doing something else.

It was weird. The knowledge that he was sucking out her blood made her a bit lightheaded. He raised his head and spit off to the side then resumed his sucking. As he did so, she realized it was easier on her heart if she thought of him sucking out the foreign substance, rather than her life essence.

While Naruto did that, Sasuke dragged his "kill" over to the out-cold killer at Kakashi's feet. The Uchiha had originally been stunned when he saw his sensei be eviscerated, but as he now looked to where he had "died," the remaining pieces of sliced wood confirmed that he'd used to **kawarimi** to escape their trap.

"So who are they Kakashi-sensei?"

The grey haired man pulled out a small black book in his pocket and opened it. "Let's see…" he looked down at their headbands and saw they were Kirigakure shinobi, and opened the book to the Kiri section. After several minute of flipping pages Kakashi looked from it to the two below him a few times before nodding affirmably.

Choosing to answer that in just a bit, he closed the book and put it back in his pocket. "Help me tie them up then get everyone over here."

Sasuke gave his sensei a look that plainly showed his dislike to being ignored, but did as commanded and helped tie the two Kiri ninja up around a tree.

As Sasuke finished knotting the ropes, Kakashi walked over to where Naruto and Hinata were sitting. Crouching down next to them, he was pleased to see that Naruto was single-mindedly doing his best to care for his Hyuuga girl. The fact that Naruto didn't hesitate what he was doing just because his sensei was there was a particularly good thing in Kakashi's opinion.

After Naruto spit out some poisoned blood one last time, he reached behind him and grabbed a pouch of gauze and a roll of medical wraps. Lacking a wet cloth to wipe of the blood, he ran his tongue across the split skin, cleaning off the blood. Hinata visibly stiffened as she felt the strange sensation of his tongue on her skin. Sure sucking on it was one thing, but he was literally licking her here!

Naruto was oblivious to this though as he worked. He was past worrying about her, and was now only concerned with getting her patched up.

_'Another good thing,'_ Kakashi mused. _'He's gotten over his emotion and is working professionally. As soon as he's sure she'll be fine, he calms down. He's not emotionless, but neither does he let his emotions cloud his mind. Kami's definitely blessed him with an elite mind. Or a great teacher…'_ he gave a glance over to Gin who was inquiring as to Tazuna's health, making sure he wasn't injured.

Naruto removed his mouth from her arm and placed the gauze over the freshly cleaned cuts and wrapped the medical cloth around it tautly. Tearing the end and tying it tightly, he looked over it and nodded at his own work. "There we go; it should heal in no time now!" Naruto said happily as he helped her up.

Kakashi stood with her and nodded approvingly at Naruto. "You acted like a real professional ninja just now." Seeing Naruto's immediate pride-filled grin, Kakashi could only smile back at the boy's infections happiness.

He looked at Hinata and gave her an "eye-smile" and patted her on the head. "You too Hinata-chan. Scars and wounds are proof of valor and bravery."

Hinata looked up at him with a surprised look, but at his words broke into a joyful smile. Kakashi now knew that Hinata's progress would be tied to the praise she was given, just as Naruto's progress was tied to Gin's praise, albeit not to such a degree as the heiress.

"Come on you two, follow me."

He placed both hands on their backs and led them back to the tree where the two Kiri ninja were constricted. Sasuke, standing moodily off to the side turned his head to acknowledge their approach, and Gin was gesturing Tazuna to join them.

"So, _who are they sensei?_" Sasuke repeated, stressing each word sarcastically. Kakashi, ignoring the attitude, gestured to their headbands.

"These two are Kirigakure chunin, known to continuously fight on, no matter what. I'm glad to know that most everyone here was able to alert each other before they jumped us."

Sasuke gave a look as if to say "everyone knew? Why didn't I?" with the general annoyance synonymous with "there was a party? Why wasn't I invited?"

Kakashi, knowing this, turned to Sasuke placed a hand on his shoulder. "Sasuke, I'm going to be teaching you ways to sense when something's wrong, and secret signal codes like what the ANBU use to communicate to each other without anyone knowing."

Sasuke begrudgingly accepted that, knowing he'd at least be getting something out of it.

"Now Tazuna…"Kakashi said, sending an _I-mean-business_ glare at the bridge builder. "We need to talk."

The old man felt a bed of sweat run down his chin at the jounin's gaze. "W-what is it?"

"While I could have easily killed these two before they even knew we knew they were there, I let them go so I could determine one thing; their target. Were they after you, or one of us? This mission was classified as C-rank, which means the highest threat we'd have would be from vagabonds and gangs. There was no mention of enemy ninja in the mission details, which by all rights is now bumped up to B-rank. At least."

The old man gave a guilty look downward at being caught. Kakashi continued.

"If it was known that shinobi would be after you, you would have had to pay for the more expensive B-rank. Now I'm sure you have your reasons, but it causes problems when you lie about mission details; we're operating outside out capabilities."

He spoke more for the capabilities of his genin students. He and Gin could probably duo the mission themselves (assuming Gin was jounin material which Sarutobi assured him he was).

"Plus we already have a wounded teammate that needs to be taken care of." He gave a slight hand motion to both Naruto and Hinata to show he didn't mean anything by it, but was using it to guilt Tazuna into talking. "We have no incentive to continue on a mission where we are vastly outmatched with a wounded teammate."

Again, he made an unnoticeable (to Tazuna) gesture to Hinata, knowing she would take it personally at any other time.

Several seconds passed as Tazuna stared at the ground. At length, he raised his head and looked to Kakashi.

"Sensei, I suppose I should tell you the truth," he began. "Youre right, this job is probably outside of your duties. It turns out a super dangerous man is after my life."

Kakashi quirked his visible eyebrow. "Super dangerous man?"

Tazuna nodded. "You've probably heard his name before. The wealthy shipping magnate, a man named Gatou."

Kakashi's eye widened in complete surprise. "Gatou? From that Gatou company? He's one of the wealthiest men in the world."

"Yes. Officially he runs a large shipping company, but secretly, he sells drugs and other illegal items, using ninjas and hired thugs to take over businesses and companies. He's a very nasty man. It was about a year ago he set his eyes on the Wave country. Through money and violence, he quickly took control of the country's shipping industry. Gatou now has a monopoly on all the shipping business in the country. The only thing he has to fear now is the completion of the bridge."

"I-I see. S-since your building the b-bridge, y-you're in the way." Hinata deduced.

Sasuke look to the two mist ninja. "So those shinobi were hired by Gatou?"

Kakashi, looked at Tazuna with care. "What I don't understand is if you knew ninja would be after you, why did you hide that fact when you hired us?"

Tazuna looked very sad now. "The Wave country is super poor. Even our Feudal Lord doesn't have much money. Of course, we don't have much money either. Not enough for the expensive B-rank mission."

His face changed into a forced smile a lot like Naruto used to do when he was trying to hide some sad fact. "But don't worry about it! If I die my cute ten-year old grandson will just cry for a few days! Oh yeah, and my daughter will a short sad life hating leave shinobi forever! It won't be your fault though, not at all!"

Team Seven, noticing the blatant use of guilt-tipping to get his way. Even so, it was enough of a guilt-tip to get Kakashi to turn to the rest of his team and shrug. They didn't really have a choice after all.

"Well, it can't be helped; we'll protect you at least until you get back to your country."

Tazuna, whose back was to his guardians immediately gave up the charade with a victorious _'I win.'_

* * *

The trip to wave was surprisingly uneventful after that. Even the boat ride into wave, in which they passed the uncompleted bridge, was as peaceful as a stroll in the park. When they disembarked, Tazuna thanked the ferryman and began to lead them to his home.

The minutes ticked by before anyone suspected anything. Even Naruto, with his reiatsu training could just barely sense the suppressed flicker of life-energy somewhere nearby. "Kakashi-sensei, tou-san…" he muttered in warning. Gin, having also detected but not pinpointed the location of this new concealed threat nodded. "Yeah."

There was a rush of wind from behind them and the deep, whirring sound of a spinning projectile alerted everyone to the immediate danger. "Everyone down now!"

At Kakashi's command, everyone dropped to the ground covering their heads as a giant blade passed over them, the immense draft from its passage sending gusts of wind across the surface of the ground.

As they all hesitantly raised their heads, they saw, standing on the handle of the giant blade that was now sunk into the truck of a thick tree, a muscular man with a foreboding aura permeating his entire being. He wore a headband with four squiggly lines (indicating his allegiance to the Hidden Mist village) rotated to the left of his head, leaving the straps to hang down on the right, wrapped around his black spiked hair. He wore grey pants with black vertical stripes and no shirt.

His white cloth mask gave him an air of mystery, like it did for Kakashi.

"Well look what we have here…" he said after a minute, his deep voice only making him even scarier. "Sharingan Kakashi, isn't it? Well, isn't this a pleasure."

That comment alone sparked some questions from said Sharingan user's students. Sasuke was probably the most surprised of them all. _'Sharingan? That's impossible!'_

Naruto had no clue what the Sharingan was, but it must be something significant if that was Kakashi-sensei's moniker.

Hinata on the other hand, knew of the Sharingan; a unique dōjutsu common and limited only to the Uchiha clan. _'But, Kakashi-sensei's not an Uchiha. So why…?'_

Kakashi stood and looked at the man with recognition. "Momochi Zabuza. What's a man of your caliber doing working for a pig like Gatou?"

Zabuza didn't look offended at all. "Gotta pay the bills somehow. And I don't plan on working for him for long anyway. But before that, that old guy there's gonna die."

Kakashi narrowed his eye at him. "Naruto, Sasuke, Hinata. Stick to guarding Tazuna and don't get involved. He's on a whole different level than those other two." They all gave hesitant nods before they backed up to form a shield around the bridge builder.

Kakashi reached up to his headband and pealed it back up, revealing his left eye to the cool, damp air.

Within his left orb, the tomoe marks encircled a black pupil, swimming in endless circle in a sea of crimson color.

"Ohh? I get to see the infamous Sharingan right off the bat? I'm honored."

Naruto cocked his eyes from Zabuza to Kakashi and couldn't help but ask. "What _is_ a Sharingan?"

Sasuke narrowed his eyes and answered for him. "The Sharingan… the Sharingan is a genetic gift that allows one to read all types of ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu. But…" he looked at Kakashi's back so intently he could probably have burnt a whole through his shirt. "…that's not the only ability the Sharingan has."

Zabuza laughed, hearing them clearly. "Hehe, exactly. What's even worse is the nasty ability to copy your enemy's techniques after only seeing them once." He looked back at Kakashi. "When I was in the Hidden Mist's assassination team, I kept a handbook with all sorts of info on you: The man who's copied over one-thousand jutsu, Copy Ninja Kakashi."

_'W-wow… Kakashi-sensei's r-reeealy strong!'_ Hinata thought with such awe she stuttered even in her mind.

Naruto's eyes were wide as he looked at his sensei with newfound respect, while Sasuke just continued to glare at his back.

"But let's end the talking here. I need to kill that old man behind you," he announced, causing the team of genin to tense up in preparation of his attack. "However… Kakashi, it seems I'll have to beat you first." He looked at the four of them dangerously. Kakashi blinked when he saw the shadow of a form in his vision, amplified by the Sharingan and grinned slightly beneath his mask.

"Yeah, but I'm not the only one here to stop you."

Zabuza raised an eyebrow before his eyes widened and he felt a presence behind him.

"You sure you should be standin' on yer sword like that?" Zabuza's obsidian eyes met sky-blue not six inches from his face. "Yer gonna need it."

A bright flash of reflected light blinded the three children for an instant, and when they looked back, both warriors were gone. The loud ringing of steel on steel clanged out across the clearing, as they slashed it out, finally coming to a stop several meters from each other near the water.

"Well shit, I thought I saw five of you before, but I figured it was just my imagination. Turns out one of you's a little sneak." Zabuza commented as he rested his massive blade on his shoulder.

Gin's blank face betrayed no apparent offence at the jab. _'If anything,'_ Naruto thought from a distance. _'…he'd probably take it as a compliment.'_ He too hadn't noticed Gin's disappearance until he'd appeared suddenly behind the Mist ninja. _'The last time I remember seeing him was right before that guy threw his sword.'_

"Well, people do what they're best at, y'know?" He paused but got no answer. In truth, he didn't really want one. Just moments before, when he'd made contact with that sword, it didn't feel foreign or empty like it did when he'd hit normal swords or objects. In fact, it felt eerily, disturbingly _familiar_.

"That's an interestin' sword ya got there. Mind tellin' me where ya got it?"

Zabuza looked at him like a child. "Why do I get the feeling you don't know much about me?" he asked with a chuckle, lowering the blade from his shoulder and prepared to charge again.

"Yer right there. But I get the feelin'… if I whack ya with my sword a few times, I'll find a bit more out." He lifted his wakizashi to his face.

"That so? Then c'mon; I'm standing right here." The shirtless man waged his finger forward, practically begging the silver haired man to attack him.

For an instant no one moved, and then Gin disappeared so fast Zabuza thought he blinked. Without turning, he swung his massive weapon backward, defending himself from a slash that would have opened up his back. With near invisible speed, he twisted around and mashed his blade against Gin's, but where he'd expected to throw him away, both stood their ground. All of a sudden, the air grew stiflingly thick as both of their auras began to exude into the surrounding area.

"What a chill… I haven't felt anything that heavy in a _long_ time…" Zabuza praised as he pushed against the ironically smaller weapon. "What's your name, Konoha shinobi?"

"Gin," he said, his smile no longer offering its usually soothing feeling. Only a cold, vicious, predatory gaze remained.

"Ichimaru… Gin."

Naruto had never seen his father's face like this before. And the reiatsu he was emitting… it was all Naruto could do to stay standing. Sasuke and Hinata had already fallen to their knees and he didn't know how Kakashi was handling it. It was numerous levels more than Naruto had ever felt Gin use before in training.

"Ichimaru Gin huh? Nice name. I'll remember that one!" Zabuza cried out as he finally succeeded in breaking the deadlock. Before the three kids could get a good look at either one they both vanished faster than the eye could see. The sound of combat resumed, except now, the sounds of clashing swords rang out as loud staccato bursts, like kunai hitting sheet metal one after the other, but much louder.

But to Kakashi and his Sharingan, the battle was far more colorful. He'd never had the opportunity to bear witness to Gin's fighting style, nor even any more than a glimpse of his abilities. It was incredible; both of them moving at speeds that nearly surpassed human capabilities.

Gin was a flurry of flashing steel and light, as he swung at the former insurgent from all angles, never once batting an eye at anything the man did or said. Zabuza would use the flat side of his weapon to defend and then, with series of attacks at speeds that shouldn't even be reachable with a sword that size, counter-attacked with bone crushing force. Each strike that was stopped from either of them created carving lines in the ground, trees, and created ripples in the water from the after-force that passed on from each blow.

A nearby tree was carved in half from a strike that was too fast to see, as was an adjacent boulder. The tree fell onto its side as the rock shattered into tiny fragments that shout outward like shrapnel.

It was, in every sense of the word, _unreal._

After thirty seconds of pure terrifying combat, they both separated with a significantly louder clash that sent a shockwave of air in all directions. Zabuza panted slightly as he stood there.

"Ichimaru, huh? What are you…?"

Gin looked at him and tipped his head innocently. "Ho…? Whatever do ya mean by that?"

Zabuza looked at Gin seriously. "Don't play coy. What is it…?"

"What's what?"

Zabuza looked completely serious, but totally thrilled. "What is it about fighting you that makes me feel so strong?"

Gin would have blinked if his eyes were open. Not knowing exactly how to respond, and expecting Zabuza had more to say, he remained silent.

"When my blade hits yours, I feel… excited. No, it's probably more like _overjoyed_. Not that I'm fighting you, but at the simple fact that our swords have touched. Every time they even get close to each other, I feel something flowing through me… something powerful. Why is it every time our blades cross I feel so much more powerful?"

Zabuza didn't seem to care for the actual answer, as he lunged forward, slashing widely but in swift succession. Again, Gin dodged and parried as was needed. It was ironic that weapons of two completely opposite sizes would so evenly matched. _'No, it's not the swords, it's their wielders.'_ Naruto watched on in jealousy as Gin demonstrated the absolute strength of his weapon's fighting style. And to think, he hadn't even released Shikai yet. Naruto realized just how far he had to go before he was even close to the former captain's level.

He was so intent on watching them that he didn't notice the thickening mist until it had already enveloped the battlefield. As soon as he did, he realized his vision was almost completely blocked out by the density of the mist. No doubt this was a technique of the enemy.

"Be careful," Kakashi warned from in front of them. "This is Zabuza's signature technique. He a master of Silent Killing; you won't know he's there until you're already dead. Don't let your guard down for one second!"

All three genin sank deeper into their combat stances.

Gin however had his hands full with Zabuza. _'He's good. Better than most Shinigami. It's strange though…'_ he thought has he swung over a slash that would have bisected him. _'He's right, whenever our blades hit each other, he only seems to get stronger.'_ He watched Zabuza's face as he attacked again, only for Gin to knock the attack away.

_'Actually, it's less than him growing stronger than it is…'_ His eyes narrowed. Blocking an overhead chop, he didn't repel the attack but let it hang in the air, deadlocked.

"That sword ya got there… What is it?"

Zabuza smirked at Gin's perception. "So you noticed it? I've only met a few people who've clearly noticed something about this sword without actually seeing what it can do." He never broke eye contact with Gin's snakelike face.

"This is one of the swords used by the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist. Each one of us has a unique weapon we've trained to use since we were brats. This is my sword, Kubikiribōchō!"

_'So that's it…'_ Gin suddenly felt all the pieces fall into place. Now he understood what was going on. With hard shove, he separated from Zabuza and leaped back several paces. Naruto's eyes lit up in excitement, knowing what this meant.

"AH, he's going to use it!" Naruto said like a child about to see their favorite superhero in real life. Both Sasuke and Hinata looked at Naruto and then back at Gin, wondering what attack Gin would use. They knew he was a good swordsman, one because he used a wakizashi which took exceptional skill to use effectively, and two because he was fighting on par with someone even Kakashi was afraid of.

Zabuza raised an eyebrow as Gin disappeared into the mist enough to leave only his silhouette visible. "What're you up to…?"

"You got a special sword there, Zabuza-han, but…" Everyone felt a spike of power from the clearing where the two fought. Kakashi, with his Sharingan could see the energy building up around Gin in the distance, even though he couldn't see Gin himself.

Hinata was giving a running commentary of what was happening by using her Byakugan. Even so, she was having trouble describing what was happening. "G-Gin-sensei's gather up a l-lot of energy into his sword…" She knew for a fact it wasn't chakra, or if it was, it wasn't any kind of chakra she'd seen before. It wasn't blue like everyone else's chakra, instead it was silvery-purple and it didn't travel through his system like chakra did.

Admittedly, she wasn't skilled enough in the Byakugan to see the chakra points along the chakra network yet, but she could see the network itself and she knew how chakra traveled along and through it. For the first time, she looked at her sensei and knew something was wrong with him. He had no chakra system whatsoever. Instead the energy just seemed to well up from his chest and create a colorful aura around him, though only visible to her.

_'T-that's not chakra, but I can still see it like usual…'_ Then in her 360 degree vision, she saw a golden-orange veil of light pour out from Naruto. She didn't need to turn her head to see it, thanks to her Byakugan, but like Gin, Naruto was pouring out energy that seemed to come from his chest, even though none of it directly touched his chakra system. Whatever Gin was doing, it was obviously teachable.

Naruto nodded at her comment. "I know; it feels so heavy… I've never seen tou-san like this before. He's completely different from what I'm used to. It's all I can do to withstand his reiatsu." Without even realizing it Naruto let the word slip out, and immediately he hoped no one else heard it. Alas, both genin turned their heads toward him. Knowing he needed to distract them for asking questions, he immediately followed with "watch what he's gonna do next."

They both continued to watch, and Naruto hoped they'd forget he even mentioned the word. Sasuke would, but Hinata filed it away for later. She might not have been a genius like Kakashi-sensei, but she knew when someone was trying to distract someone from another subject. She would know; she did it all the time with her father, though unfortunately not to any great effect.

She didn't need to direct her gaze back to Gin, having been watching him and Naruto both at the same time (the Byakugan had its advantages).

In the distance Gin drew his sword arm back and set himself in a stance that looked like he was about to be hit by something heavy.

"**Ikorose…**"

"Here it comes!" Naruto all but shouted excitedly.

"**…Shinsō.**"

And with a powerful thrust, Gin stabbed his weapons forward, and the silver blade glowed with an ethereal white light as it protracted at an immense speed. As it shot through the mist, a tunnel of clear air opened in front of it, the blade literally disturbing the air current in its wake.

Zabuza immediately sensed something wrong, and was proven right the speeding blade pierced the mist not a dozen feet from him. Quickly flipping his zanbato on its side, he used it as a shield against the spear-like blade of Gin's.

But while he'd expected the blade to stop or slow down upon impact, he was again surprised to find the power behind its extension was much stronger than he thought. With a grunt, he twisted his hips slightly, letting the blade slide across the surface of his own, eventually slipping off before retracting.

The three leaf ninja stood with eyes wide. Neither Sasuke nor Hinata had ever seen their co-sensei use _any_ techniques before, save earlier that day against the demon brothers, but even then they'd both been too preoccupied to acknowledge it.

"Wha… what was that?" Sasuke stammered aloud in incredulity. _'I've never heard of any ninjutsu that involve objects before!'_

Hinata looked on in wonder. "S-sugoi…!" Her Byakugan vision was stuck on both Gin and his adopted son. _'Gin-sensei's super strong! And to think he's probably been teaching Naruto the same things…'_

Eve Kakashi, who'd been training alongside Gin for the past several months, was surprised, though to an extremely lesser degree than his students. _'Well that's an interesting technique. Strange I didn't see any chakra used for it. Maybe that's a special weapon of some sort?'_

Zabuza grunted as he slammed the retreating blade away. _'Well shit. My normal fighting style won't work on this guy; he stays too far away for me to grapple with him. Guess I'll just have improvise...'_ He looked around himself and focused on his target.

In a flash he slinked through the mist, slowly raising his blade to bifurcate Kakashi. But even as the blade sunk into his flesh, he knew something was wrong. He figured out what it was when the body of the one-eyed man burst into water. _'Mizu bunshin?'_ He felt a stabbing pain from his back as another Kakashi lodged a kunai into his spine.

"Nice try Zabuza, but you'll have to do better," Kakashi said definitively. Zabuza let out a laugh and turned his head to look directly into Kakashi's eyes. "You're right…"

Kakashi's eyes widened as he felt Zabuza's presence behind him again. _'This one's also a clone?'_

With a hard horizontal swing, Zabuza made to cut Kakashi in half. But before his blade even finished swinging, it stopped short. Zabuza looked aside to his weapon in surprise. Then he saw the problem. Gin had taken his sword and stabbed it through the small hole in the tip of the blade, keeping it from being used. But even that wouldn't stop the Kiri shinobi. All he had to do was lift it up and over the opposing sword. But as he was lifting the blade up, Gin's hand gripped the edge of the large zanbato.

"**Hado no Jūichi, Tsuzuri Raiden.**" There a burst of yellow light from Gin's palm and immediately Zabuza felt his body go numb with pain. "GAAAAH!"

He cried out I pain as the electric shock traveled through his sword and into his body. He groaned in pain but looked up at Gin fiercely. "Don't underestimate me!" whipping his unused hand out he grabbed onto Kakashi's leg and held fast. He wouldn't drop his sword, and he wouldn't succumb to this weak-ass jutsu!

Kakashi looked down in surprise as the energy coursing through Zabuza's body traveled their way into his. "Ngh!" He grunted in pain as the power of the attack was split between himself and Zabuza. He hoped Gin would keep it up though; he could take the pain, as long as they could neutralize Zabuza.

Unfortunately, Gin released the blade when he saw that Kakashi was also being effected. That brief moment of hesitation was what Zabuza was banking on. Pulling on Kakashi's foot, he made the white-haired man stumble to find his footing, and then reached over and grabbed Gin by the shirt and flung him over his head and into the ground, following up by bringing his sword over his head to attack the now prone Shinigami.

He was distracted by the larger than usual sword refusing to move as he wanted it to. Looking behind him, he saw the blonde kid who was supposed to be guarding the bridge builder hanging from his Kubikiribōchō. The blonde glared at Zabuza with a fire in his eyes and drew his own wakizashi to stab the supposedly defenseless nuke-nin.

But despite the extra weight, Zabuza easily flung the blade over his shoulder, tossing the blonde into the nearby lake. He watched the boy splash into the water with a surprised shout and turned back to his two opponents. His eyes widened as he saw Gin's blade pointed directly at him, and knowing what it could do, he immediately dodged to the side before it even began to extend.

Before he even touched the ground, Kakashi was already on top of him. But this time the assassin was ready. He specifically dodged in the direction of the water with a very important reason. "**Suiton, Suirō no Jutsu!**"

"Shit!" Kakashi's eyes widened as a wall of water rose up around him, encircling him in a prison of dense liquid.

Zabuza grinned. "Gotcha, Kakashi. This water prison's stronger than steel, so don't bother trying to get out." Of course, Zabuza hadn't forgotten about Gin, and made sure to keep the man in his line of vision. Even so, he needed to be careful. He doubted either Kakashi or Gin knew that he had to keep contact with the prison to keep it up, but Gin's particular fighting style, being both long-ranged with stabbing and sweeping attacks and short-ranged with lightning fast strikes, could be a particular problem if he had to fight him off with one hand.

Odds were though that Gin would attack from a distance first, taking advantage the blinding mist and Zabuza's immobile form. And when the man's sword came flying out of the bog, he smirked, knowing he was right. He quickly ducked behind the water prison as the blade hit it dead on, not stopping but slowing to a crawl as soon as it met the water. As long as he kept the prison between himself and Gin, he'd have no trouble with the blade's annoying ability to extend. That, and if Gin actually did pierce his prison he'd endanger Kakashi in the process.

Once one of them was taken care of, he'd have a much easier time killing the other. Then there were brats too. _'Eh, they're small fry. Killing them'll be a piece of cake.'_ He smirked confidently and raised his zanbato with his left hand and prepared to swing at Kakashi. Even if the prison was stronger than steel, he'd just weaken it at the last instant and cut right through it, and Kakashi along the way.

He heard a loud splashing sound behind him and he quickly turned to see what it was. He was taken by surprise when the genin he'd thrown into the water earlier latched onto his back and tried to yank him off balance. "Leave my sensei alone you eyebrowless freak!"

Zabuza felt a tick mark for on his forehead ad he swung his free arm around trying to throw the kid off, but this time it seemed like he was attached to him tightly. "You… little… brat!" he yelled as he flipped his sword backward and swung behind him, intending to cut the boy across the back.

As he did so, his eyes spotted a shadowy form approaching through the mist. The black haired boy who was guarding Tazuna came rushing at him, but his eyes clearly showed he thought it was a suicide decision.

Even so, Sasuke was completely prepared to fight with everything he had. Grabbing some shuriken, he flung them forward and followed after. Zabuza's eyes narrowed as he brought his blade back around to block them. Then, without even needing to weave hand signs, a duo of water-clones rose from the water as the boy ran by, each grabbing an ankle as they formed. Sasuke's eyes widened as he fell into the water before he had time to leap at the real Zabuza. One clone dove underwater, dragging Sasuke along with him while the other turned around to pry the blonde boy off Zabuza's back.

Zabuza was immediately attentive as he watched another of the genin, this time the small girl, rush forward. In her eyes, he could clearly see doubt, but he could also see the determination to see whatever he hair-brained scheme to defeat him was through. She didn't look that strong either physically or mentally, and nearly laughed as she rushed at him.

He quickly made another clone to deal with her as he worked with his other clone to remove the annoying twerp from his back.

The clone, even though only a tenth as powerful as the original, would be overkill against a genin of her stature. The clone stood between her and the original, not even bothering to draw its blade. Hinata rushed forward and attacked.

"HA!" thrusting a palm forward, the man simply flicked the attack away, making her stumble forward, and then an extended foot caused her to trip over, while his other hand gave her a hard judo-chop to the back of her neck. As she fell to the ground, the clone rolled his eyes in disgust. _'Genin these days… I get that the Leaf is notoriously soft on their students, and that the quality of genin has declined anyway in the past few years, but this is just disgusting…'_

He looked at the young girl as she coughed and tried to brace her arms under her as her shocked limbs struggled to find the strength to support her. He bent down and crouched on his haunches. Grabbing her by her short bluish hair, he lifted her up back onto her feet. With a brutal punch he sent her reeling back, his fist planted deep in her gut.

"Kids these days have no idea what it takes to be a ninja," he muttered under his breath as she coughed violently and spit out some blood, but didn't fall down. He sighed and walked over, swiftly kicking her between the legs so hard she was sent into the air a good foot or two. Before she even had time to descend, he grabbed her by her hair and held her, suspended above the ground. She squealed in pain as her hands shot to his arm and tried to pull herself up to she didn't rip her hair out from her own weight.

"Girl, look at me." She didn't, her eyes clenched in pain. With a rough shake, he demanded it again. "Look at me ya little bitch!" She fearfully opened her eyes, her hands desperately clinging to his.

His gaze was cold and uncaring. "Listen kid, I'd suggest you give up whatever dreams you have of being a shinobi. You're pathetic, you've got some good looks, for a thirteen year old; don't waste 'em on something you suck at."

Kakashi, who floated helplessly inside his prison growled. If he didn't know better he'd have thought Zabuza actually cared about her. But then he realized the man probably just couldn't stand someone as weak as Hinata calling herself a ninja.

But she surprised them both as she stared back at Zabuza's clone and spoke, with tears running down her eyes. "I… I'm a shinobi to p-protect someone p-precious to me…"

Zabuza's clone narrowed his eyes at her but didn't say anything. After a few seconds, he released her head, much to her relief. But before she'd her feet even hit the ground, he lashed out and slammed his calloused fist into her chest with as much force as he could.

Her cheeks puffed up as air suddenly forced itself backwards through her chest and out her mouth. She flew through the air several meters before hitting the cold, damp, and hard-packed ground on her back. Zabuza stalked forward purposefully. "I'm only a tenth as powerful as the real me. If I'd been the real deal, I'd probably've popped your tits with that blow."

She lay there on the ground, arms hesitantly moving over her chest as her body slowly reacted. She couldn't breathe, and the pain from that hit was so immense her body wasn't responding at all. Her eyes were wide with both fear and pain. Her racing heart only demanded more oxygen that it knew it couldn't get as it pounded so hard against her chest, Zabuza could literally see it twitch every time.

He slowly stepped over to her and planted his foot on her chest, hard enough to cause pain but also with enough force to cause her body to inhale sharply, allowing her breath again. "You're not suited to be a ninja. I can tell you're shy, you've got no talent, and you can't even use that precious Byakugan of yours effectively."

With the painful pressure of his foot on her chest, she only managed to wheeze out a weak, "I… *huff,* I-…" before breaking out into a fit of coughs, blood spurting into her mouth and dribbling down the corners of her lips.

Zabuza leaned a hand on his raised knee, causing her to grimace in pain as he leaned over to look her in the eyes. "How 'bout I tell you what's gonna happen if keep _pretending_ to be a ninja. Odds are if you get into a fight, you'll either die or barely live. The only reason you'd be left alive is two things. Actually, three things in your case. You'll be tortured for information and then killed, tortured for information and used as a hostage (no guarantee you'll be returned alive), or tortured, raped, and used as a little pleasure machine by anyone who's too stupid to think of using you to churn out little Hyuugas for their own village." He chuckled as he made sure she heard every word of what he said. "Face it, any way you look at it, you're fucked."

He lifted his foot from her chest and began walking away, allowing her a moment's respite. He unlatched his sword from his back and held it out to the side, flipping it long-ways so she could see just how big the blade actually was. "Now scram before I decide to do all of the above."

She held her arms close to her chest as she struggled to rise. Her mind was in a state of mixed shock at the moment. Zabuza had voiced the potential dangers she knew would come with being a kunoichi, but never really wanted to acknowledge. She knew those were risks that came with the territory, but strangely, enough, though they scared her, and she didn't doubt he would probably make good on his threat, she didn't feel nearly afraid as she realized she probably should be.

With great pain, she forced herself onto her knees, her arms still wrapped around her chest as every breath brought incredible agony. Demanding her body's cooperation, she wrestled control of her breathing and struggled to speak. "I… *cough!* I know that… but…" She was too out of it to stutter as she forced herself to her feet, falling back down to a knee before getting back up again.

"But… I… I want *cough, cough!* I want to… to protect…"

Zabuza's gaze turned icy cold. "Protect? Protect who? You can't even protect yourself!" Twirling the blade around, he smacked her in the side of the head with the blunt end of his weapon, sending her tumbling across the clearing where she landed at the side of the lake, in front of Kakashi's pained eyes.

"Zabuza! Leave them out of this, it's us and Tazuna you want!" he said, turning to the original. He, however, was silent as he watched the girl try to rise again, but failed, collapsing to the ground, her head and one arm dangling just above or in the water. Blood dripped from the side of her head and from her mouth, her eyes half lidded and empty. The trickle of blood fell into the water and began to dilute its clear blue color with a crimson red.

At some point during his clone's interaction with Hinata, his other clone had managed to tear Naruto off and throw him back into the water, where it then dove under after him, continuing the fight underwater.

The clone that had just smacked Hinata around now strode over, resting his blade right above her neck. "Instead of dreaming of you want to protect, you should start worrying about who's going to protect _you._"

He raised his blade a little higher as if preparing to execute her. But he hesitated when he heard a garbled whisper escape from her lips, and he bent down to hear what she was saying. Even Kakashi in his prison had to lean forward slightly to hear her.

Even through all the pain her body was experiencing, she managed to whisper out in a hoarse blood filled voice. "You're… wrong…"

Zabuza growled at her and stood back up, raising his Kubikiribōchō high above his head as he prepared to swing down. He was about to do so, when he felt that all of a sudden something was wrong. His sharp eyes looked around her body wondering what it was that was setting his sense on high alert.

It was then he noticed her left arm, the one that was submerged beneath the water. Even though the water was stained with a thin red tint, and the ripples from the lake, he could see the faint vestiges of a hand seal.

His eyes widened as he looked down at his foot that he'd used to stomp on her and saw the concealed form of a paper bomb. He didn't even have time to respond before it detonated, sending water flying in all directions and blowing some of the mist away, though replacing it with smoke. The original Zabuza tsk'd and made to kill her himself, since she was in rage of his sword, if he stretched. Sadly he couldn't move the prison that was holding Kakashi. He prepared to swing down at where he body was when, in a cloud of smoke, she rushed forward with all her strength and slammed her right palm into his right wrist.

"Shit!" He felt his hold on the prison loosen and then drop as the chakra he was sending through his hand into the prison was disrupted. The water dropped around Kakashi, and Zabuza immediately tossed the girl away, now prioritizing the much greater threat. She splashed across the water like a skipping rock as he brought his weapon to bear on the Sharingan user.

_'Damn it! I'll deal with that little shit-stain later. Kakashi comes first.'_ He swung at Kakashi who ducked and then leapt up, giving a massive uppercut to Zabuza's chin. As the nuke-nin hopped away from the blow, he felt a growing unease settle about him.

_'Something's wrong… Something about his eyes have changed.'_

Indeed something had changed about Kakashi. He'd never developed any kind of close relationship with Hinata, but she was still his student, and something akin to a daughter in that sense. She was his duty. She was his teammate. And watching her get brutalized by Zabuza caused him to finally snap.

"Oh something's definitely wrong," Kakashi said as if he'd read Zabuza's mind. He looked up at the man with Sharingan ablaze, tomoe spinning like a cyclone. "What's wrong is you're still alive."

Zabuza grinned under his mask. "That so? Sorry to disappoint you." He affixed his sword to his back and flipped through numerous hand signs, even as Kakashi began to do the same.

"**Suiton, Suishōha!**" The attack was uniform, with a massive torrent of water rising up around both Kakashi and Zabuza before bursting like a raging flood toward each other.

Before the water had even completely fallen on him, Zabuza was already weaving more hand signs. _'__Ushi__, __Saru__, U, __Ne__, __I__, __Tori__, __Ushi__, __Uma__, __Tori__, __Ne__, Tora, __Inu__, Tora, __Mi__, __Ushi__, __Hitsuji__, __Mi__, __I__, __Hitsuji__, __Ne__, __Jin__, __Saru__, Tori, __Tatsu__, Tori,__ Ushi__, __Uma__, __Hitsuji__, Tora, __Mi__, __Ne__, __Saru__, __U__, __I__, __Tatsu__, __Hitsuji__, __Ne__,__ Ushi__, __Saru__, __Tori__, __Jin__, __Ne__, __I__, __Tori!__'_

And as the final seal was formed, the water flowing around him began to spiral, flifing from the ground into the sky, forming the image of a giant dragon of water. _'**Suiton, Suiryūdan no Jutsu!**'_

But as the water of the first attack settled on both sides, a mirror dragon came flying at him from the waves, smashing into his and angling to take him out as well. Zabuza, surprised as hell to see his attacks thwarted by a mirror copy of themselves, growled loudly. "You damn copy cat!You don't have an original bone in your body!"

As the water cleared, Kakashi's Sharingan eye bore into Zabuza, a silent fury emenating from his still from. Zabuza was taken aback, if only a little. _'This guy-'_

"-is freaking me out, right?"

Zabuza blinked as Kakashi finished the sentence he'd begun in his mind. _'Damn it, he's playing-'_

"-mind games with me, acting like he can read my mind, is what you were going to say."

Zabuza growled and threw and accusatory finger at the jounin. "When I'm done with you Kakashi I'm going to make sure you never open that monkey mouth of yours again!"

Kakashi held up his hands in the bird seal. "And the jutsu you were going to use on me… did it happen to be this one?"

Zabuza's eyes widened as the water around Kakashi began to swirl.

"**Suiton: Daibakufu no Jutsu!**"

Zabuza could only yell out as the torrential mass of water surged around him, send him soaring back like a small bamboo stick. It felt like ages before his head broke water again and he hit the thick trunk of a tree. The whistling sound of flying kunai were followed by solid *thunks* against Zabuza's arms and thighs.

"You're finished Zabuza," Kakashi declared ominously from a branch above the Swordsman. "You're going to die here." Zabuza growled and opened his mouth to shout a retort back when a pair of large needles hit him straight in the neck. Whatever words he was about to say died with him.

"Well whuddia know, he died. Guess you we're right." Kakashi looked across the way and saw a small figure, dressed in regular Kiri ANBU attire with a hunter-nin mask. "A ninja hunter?"

The figure nodded. "Yes. Thank you for fighting Zabuza, I've been after him for quite some time," he said with a bow before he leapt down to where Zabuza's body now lay. Kakashi likewise fell from the tree and stood next to Zabuza's body. The masked ninja looked at Kakashi strangely. "I'll take care of his body now. You can go about rescuing your teammates."

Kakashi blinked before he almost smacked himself in stupidity. "Damn! Sasuke! Naruto! Hinata!" he ran off and dove into the nearby lake, remembering that all three of them had fallen in.

Haku sighed and picked up Zabuza's "corpse." He grunted in effort. _'Oomph... I know Zabuza-san loves fresh vegetables, but I'm pretty sure he's sneaking some stuff between meals. Not to mention his sword is still strapped to his back…'_ He heaved the body up and vanished with a quick shunshin.

Beneath the water of the lake, Kakashi searched frantically for is team. What he found was Gin already there lifting Sasuke's body from the depths. When Gin saw Kakashi, he pointed to the surface and they both swam up. When they hit the air Gin breathed in deeply. "I'm tryin' to find Naruto! Take Sasuke to shore an help me find him!"

Kakashi nodded and took Sasuke from Gin's arms. "Hinata fell in too, and she's in no condition to swim at all!"

Gin immediately looked worried and dove back under as Kakashi swam back to shore and lay Sasuke down. Checking for a pulse, he quickly began giving the young Uchiha CPR. Thankfully it only took two sets for the boy to begin coughing p water and breathing again. Kakashi would have stayed to see if there was anything wrong, but as soon as he saw Sasuke breathing on his own, he ran back to the lake and dived in.

Once under, he found the water a lot darker than he'd expected. Thankfully the Sharingan helped him spot any movements in the water. He could see Gin further down, looking around frantically. Kakashi also looked around and spotted something that he silently thanked Zabuza for: a patch of discolored water, red with fresh blood. Kakashi swiftly swam down and tried waving the blood away, and to his surprise, it wasn't Hinata he found, but Naruto.

His eyes widened when he saw blood flowing from the underneath the boy's body. Swiftly picking him up, he squatted down and with a chakra-propelled leap, he quickly rose from the bottom of the lake, his ears popping like no tomorrow as he broke the surface and cleared the water enough for him to land on the water's surface, running across it and back to land.

As soon as he stepped on the hard earth, Sasuke was by his side, now having the energy to move. Kakashi lay Naruto down and rolled him over. Naruto had his blade strapped to his back as opposed to his hip as usual which was strange. But as the jounin saw the wound, he was sure he knew why. Next to the blade was a long horizontal gash that ran deep into his back. Kakashi remembered when Zabuza swung his sword backwards to cut Naruto from his back.

The only reason Naruto wasn't split in two is because Zabuza's blade hit Naruto's, stopping it from progressing any further into his back.

"Sasuke, Give Naruto CPR while I try and fix this!" It was an order, not a suggestion, and Sasuke did as told, even with only the slightest hesitation. Sasuke bent over and placed his mouth to Naruto's, breathing out and into Naruto's water filled lungs, then followed by pressing down firmly on the center of the blonde's chest. Kakashi grabbed his med-kit from his pack and prayed he wouldn't be too late.

Tazuna, who'd been mostly forgotten since the fight began, quickly sprinted over and asked if there was anything he could do. Kakashi said he could hold Naruto once he started breathing again. _'_If_ he starts breathing again…'_ he corrected himself as Sasuke continued to try unsuccessfully to resuscitate his teammate. "It's not working Sensei!" Sasuke shouted as he continued to press down on the boy's chest. Kakashi growled low in his throat and did something he hadn't done in years. He prayed.

He prayed to whoever might be watching over his sensei's son that the boy would live, and he hoped Kami wouldn't hold it against him that he hadn't talked to Him in forever. It was silent, and pleading, and just as he was about to give up hope, Sasuke, in frustration and despair at having lost his rival and friend, gave Naruto's chest a smash with his fist.

And miraculously, Naruto's eyes bulged as they opened as he spewed water all over his chest and leaned over to clear his windpipe from residual water. Sasuke looked at Naruto with wide eyes as he held his friend carefully, trying not to touch his back wound. Naruto's eyes were now closed tightly as he took deep breaths to his oxygen starved lungs.

Even as Kakashi was near in tears that his prayer had been answered, he heard a disturbance of the water behind him and he saw Gin with Hinata in his arms now running over to the four of them. Even to Kakashi, Hinata didn't look good. Her face was paler than usual and her head wound was still bleeding, which was really bad. If it was still bleeding that meant it had been bleeding the entire time she'd been underwater.

Blood and water are of the same viscosity so that meant the blood wouldn't clot to seal cuts or scrapes under water. She must be extremely close to the danger threshold for her blood levels.

Gin began CPR immediately as he lay her down. Naruto, groggily tried moving over to Hinata as he saw her, but Sasuke forced him back down, knowing he could end up hurting himself in his condition. Kakashi found himself praying again. CPR was risky for Hinata right now, since he was sure she'd have gotten more than one broken rib from Zabuza. If anything they were only causing more pain.

Gin eventually realized CRP wasn't working and looked from Hinata's pale, deathly face to the others. He wasn't very good at medical Kido and certainly was no doctor, and he knew that at any second Hinata would drift from the plane and he'd see a Plus-Hinata with a chai attached to her chest if he didn't act fast.

He knew this could be bad, but he didn't have a choice. He drew Shinsō out and held it above Hinata's lifeless body. He'd only ever heard of this working successfully once before. Everyone looked at him as if he was crazy and even Naruto's eyes widened as he pointed Shinsō down at Hinata's heart. "Whoa whoa whoa, what're you doing?" Sasuke demanded as he placed a hand over where Gin was prepared to stab.

"She won't respond, and we don't have any medical methods of bringin' her back. This's the only way I know of that'll work. But yall have to trust me."

Everyone looked at each other and then at Kakashi who looked gravely serious. "Gin, if she dies from whatever you're going to do, you won't live to apologize to Naruto."

Gin gave a nod and motioned them to sit her up. They did so and watched as Gin gathered more of that strange energy around his blade. There was so much of it that it was actually visible to their naked eyes.

"Hold 'er steady. Don't move a muscle. If this misses, she _will _die." Kakashi and Sasuke each held her perfectly still as Tazuna kept Naruto from rushing over.

Gin placed the tip of his zanpakuto against the center of her chest and braced his arm. And with only the slightest bit of hesitation, he pierced her heart. Instantly there was a bright, blindingly white light that shot from Gin's blade and Hinata's body.

After some time had passed, the light died down and Gin removed his sword from her chest. Though her clothes were ripped where the sword had pierced her, there was no blood, or even cut on her skin. After several moments passed, Hinata shifted as if awakening from sleep, except that her lungs instantly recognized the foreign matter inside them. As she went to inhale, she vomited a bucketful of water on the ground, coughing and hacking with such violence that the others had to hold her steady as her body involuntarily tried to expel the excess liquid.

Nearly everyone looked at her amazed as Gin fell onto his butt, clearly exhausted as a small bead of sweat ran down his face and he breathed deeply, clearly winded.

After her fits had died down she looked at everyone curiously as she felt something about them she hadn't even experienced before. Each one of them had a strange aura that she felt like she could almost taste. Her white orbs rolled in their sockets as she searched for her best friend. Finally she turned around and saw Naruto breathing excitedly, but clearly injured from the blood pooling below him. She made to call out to him but her voice wouldn't work. Her lungs were tired and on fire, her chest in agony, her eyelids heavy, and her body sluggish. She reached out to him and he responded, reaching out to her as well.

Just as their fingers brushed, Hinata's body finally gave out and she succumbed to much needed slumber brought about by post-shock fatigue and blood loss. Kakashi caught her and laid her back down on the ground carefully.

Whatever Gin had done had brought Hinata back to consciousness must have been some sort of high-ranking ninjutsu, or in all likely hood it might even be a kinjutsu. But then he remembered, Gin wasn't technically alive, and who knew what techniques the dead could use. Even so, he didn't look completely confident when he performed the technique, whatever it was.

Though he brought her back, her head was still bleeding badly, and he was certain her ribs were still broken badly. If they didn't need to quit the mission before, they certainly did now.

Kakashi turned to Tazuna and looked at him gravely. "Tazuna, how much further is your house from here?"

The bridge builder, surprised at being called, quickly tried to calculate the distance from his current position. "W-well it should be too much further, a few minutes or so if we hurry."

Kakashi nodded and went to pick up Hinata when all of a sudden his body feelt extremely heavy and he too fell to the ground. "S-sensei! What's wrong?" Tazuna yelled as Kakashi face-planted.

"Shit…! I used the Sharingan too much…!"

Gin grit his teeth and got up, grabbing Hinata and then Naruto, placing Naruto on his back and Hinata in his arms. Tazuna, being a buff bridge builder took the hint and picked up Kakashi, placing him between his right shoulder and Sasuke's left as the Uchiha helped to carry his teacher.

"Lead the way." Gin commanded and Tazuna nodded. "This way, hurry!"

The trail of blood was the only thing they left behind.

* * *

Tsunami worriedly cooked dinner for her and Inari, but making sure to make extra for whoever her father brought with him from the Leaf village. _'What could be taking him so long? He should be back by now.'_ She was startled from her thoughts as a heavy knock fell on the front door. "Tsunami, it's me! Hurry up and open the door!"

Tsunami immediately knew the voice of her father and would have smiled had he not sounded so urgent. She rushed over and unlatched the door and opened it. Immediately Tazuna stepped inside carrying a man dressed in blue and with a Konoha headband on his forehead supported by a young boy who also helping to carry him. But that wasn't all, as sson as they came through another younger man walked through carrying a blood young girl in his arms and a wounded boy on his back.

"Wha... What happened?" She asked mostly to her father. Tazuna lay Kakashi down on the floor next to the couch and let him rest as Kakashi instructed him to do. Sasuke went back over to Gin and helped Naruto get off and lie down even as Gin did the same for Hinata.

"We were ambushed. Gatou sent some super strong shinobi after us this time. If it wasn't for these brave souls I wouldn't be here right now."

Tsunami looked between the injured trying to size up the severity of the damage. The older looking of the two grown-ups appeared to be fatigued but didn't sport any serious injury. The blonde boy had a wound on his back that was pretty deep and would probably have to be stitched up, and she knew she could probably help with that. The girl on the other hand looked even worse! While the boy was bleeding, it was slow and seemed to be clotting well. However the girl's blood didn't seem to be stopping at all.

"W-well, what can I do to help? Who should I help first?"

The blonde was quick to point to point to the girl. "Help… Hinata… first, I'll go… last," he said between breaths. Tsunami nodded and quickly grabbed the first aid kit Tazuna held out to her after taking it from the children's bags. She opened it up and put it aside as she looked at the girl's head. She was surprised as he father began to take off the girl's clothes. "What are you doing tou-san?"

Tazuna didn't even look at her, his face a mask of seriousness. "She's definitely got some super broken ribs. You'll need to take care of that after you bandage her head."

She was unconscious, and Tsunami was grateful for that. It would make it easier to help patch her up. She nodded and helped her father take off her jacket and slip off her thread-mail shirt. Tsunami almost gasped at the sight. Her whole chest was a nasty looking purple and blue color. She ran her hand across the girl's skin and noticed when she grunted in pain at even the slightest touch.

"Dad go take care of the other one, I'll do what I can here." Tazuna nodded and Gin replaced him at his spot. Tsunami carefully rolled her onto her side and unclasped her bra, slipping it off and laying it to the side. When the pale purple article was removed, Tsunami nearly wanted to cry at the sight of her. Her bra had hidden the even worse injury which was to the girl's right breast.

It was beyond blue and purple, it was straight out black. She couldn't even see her nipple; it was all uniform. Even worse, it seemed like whatever physical trauma had caused this also broke the skin, causing some blood to tricle out of a tiny rip that extended into her nipple.

Tsunami could only stare in shock. How could she fix _this?_ She was answered as the man beside her, the younger one, ran a glowing green hand over her skin. She watched as the skin slowly began to color again, returning to its milky-white state after some time. When Gin ran his hand a few centimeters above her breast, his eyes narrowed, though strangely to Tsunami, they never opened.

He held his hand there, moving in slow circles, as the glowing light intensified. After several minutes, her skin began to return to normal. When at last he focused entirely on the center of her breasts, Tsunami watched in fascination as the rip in her chest closed quickly, being only an inch or so big, but still big enough to bleed profusely. At length, her nipple returned to its perky, pink form. Had Tsunami's mind not been focused on her wounds or how to help her, she would have felt jealous; the girl was developed far more than she had been at this girl's age.

_'I barely even had breasts at that age, and my nipples were never that perky.'_ Ignoring her green-colored emotion, she pulled out some of the bandages from the kit and began wrapping the girl's head tightly. When she was sure she'd done so appropriately, she turned back to the younger man only to find him wrapping the blonde boy's wound the same as she had done Hinata's.

Seeing blood from her breast wound still covering her chest, she when to the kitchen and grabbed a warm, wet cloth and wiped away most of the red liquid. But even though the bruising had been mostly removed, with only a few dark spots to be seen, any pressure on the girl's chest made her groan in pain.

Frowning, she looked over to the younger man and called out to him. "A-ano, Shinobi-san?" Gin turned his head to her even as he finished tying the wraps together with Sasuke's help. Naruto yelped in pain from where he lay face down on the floor.

Tsunami merely looked from him to the girl. "I've bandaged her head and cleaned up the blood, but she's still in pain."

Kakashi spoke up from where he lay, refusing to fall asleep until he was sure everyone on his team would be safe. "Gin, can you heal her ribs?"

The silver haired man, now appropriately known as Gin (unless it was a codename), shook his head. "No I don't. Just basic stuff to heal scrapes and small cuts."

"Then you'll have to bandage her chest tightly, regardless of how much she may protest. We need to make sure her ribs heal in the right position."

Tsunami nodded and pulled out more bandages. She already knew this would be a long night.

* * *

**A/N: And there we go, chapter seven! Would believe I have chapter eight almost done too? Geez, I just can't put this story down! Tell me what you think in a review! I promise i'll update soon (and break my record for breaking promises ;_;) I mean it! Review! Reviews are the lifeblood of any story! Want more of this one? DEN REVIEW! Don't be afraid to comment, question or even flame! Wait a minute... Ignore that last one! Like a stich to every snitch, there's a lame for every flame!**

**That is all ^_^ 'Till next time!**


	8. Chapter 8: Recovery

**A/N:And here I go with chapter eight! Yep, this one was allready written and ready for use. I'm still working on chapter nine, but it wont be long before its done. However, since i'm starting school on monday, i don't know how much spare time i'll have to write anymore. I'm sure I'll still be updaating but I can't promise anything. But that's depressing! Lets get to the more exciting stuff! Like the reviewers of last chapter! Yeah! **

**Those being, **EVA-Saiyajin, Orchamus, cmcwiki, yukicrewger2, Hypothetical Spiritual Entity, One of the Colorless, Pyromania101, reven228, Chewie Cookies, Rising Solstace, Hee-Ho Master, Ookami88, Tikitorch559, Leonineus, Cross on the Hill, Zaralann, KitElizaKing, ZeroLink29, KantonKageX, **and** Hyrulian Hero Akai. **Thanks for the time spent reading and reviewing! Much appreciated :)**

**Now, since I responded to pretty much everyone view review-response, I don't think there are many questions left unanswered. However, **Rising Solstice,** its very difficult for em to respond to your questions when you have personal mesaging disabled :P So I need to answer it here: In regards to the first aprt of your question, it will be expalined later on. Yes it was pretty obvious i was going to bring Matsumoto in :P and I will be bringing more swords into the story, but there will be no more copies.**

**Also, to those who complained about me making Zabuza "too strong," need I remind you he's one of the Seven F***ing Swordsmen? I honeslty don't understand why every single author decides to make him and Haku a f***ing pushover (which, while I'm on the subject, I put a list of commonalities in fanfiction on my profile towards the bottom. Its not complete yet, and will be constantly added to. Enjoy reading it :D), or make them good and then invite the to Konoha. I however, wil do neither. I have a more... _unexplored_ solution to Zabuza and Haku. I rather think its one of my most epic ideas personally. **

**But enough about that! Onto the story! Enjoy everybody!**

* * *

**Chapter 8: Recovery**

Sasuke woke up, groaning from a painful crick in his neck as he raised his head. He rubbed the sore skin relieving some of the tension. He opened his eyes and took on his surroundings. He was lying on a couch in a living room, with his team sprawled out around him. Naruto lay on his stomach on a sleeping pad with the blanket only pulled up to his waist. Kakashi lay on his back with the blanket pulled up to his chin, and Hinata lay on her back with a double set of pillows beneath her head and the blanket pulled up to just below her neck.

He looked over to see Gin sleeping in a chair, his head propped up on his hand. Sasuke, making sure to stay silent, got up and tip-toed around them all and went to the front door. The sun was shining with the brilliant golden color of midmorning. "What time is it…? Ten? Eleven?" It was around there, probably ten-thirty. He looked around him and saw only the forest on one side of the house and the sea on the other.

It had been a full day ago that they'd arrived at the house. The day before everyone had spent asleep while Gin had gone out with Tazuna so he could work on the bridge. Sasuke stayed at the house to protect everyone else. Even though he had been assigned to the house, he didn't feel useless or left out, since he had so many people to protect, it felt like he was actually doing the more important job. That made him happy, in his own way.

Naruto, Kakashi and Hinata woke up only once to eat, and that was because Tsunami insisted that they get something in their bellies. Hinata was forced to only eat things like soup and drink water since chewing and swallowing harder foods hurt her chest badly. Naruto also had trouble sitting up, since his back hurt every time he moved but he assured everyone that he'd be fine by the next day. Kakashi had trouble moving. Period. He'd overused his Sharingan and drained himself of chakra after using so many high-level jutsu. Still, he was able to eat on his own just fine.

Naruto had to spoon-feed Hinata since her chest wasn't quite at the stage where she could move about. Sasuke was probably the luckiest one of them all. He'd only been tripped and then trapped underwater, forced to fight those Zabuza clones without any air. He'd only been able to fight for so long before he passed out from lack of oxygen. Next thing he knew he was on the ground being resuscitated by Kakashi.

He looked around for anybody and spied a young kid sitting on the side of the docks that acted as a wrap-around porch for the house. Seeing as he was just sitting there, Sasuke walked over to him. "Oi, kid."

The child turned and scowled with such a look as to give Sasuke a run for his money. "You."

"What? Got a problem?" Sasuke replied apathetically.

"Grandpa hired you guys to protect him from Gatou right?" the kid asked with a glowering expression. For some reason Sasuke already didn't like him.

"That's the idea."

The kid turned away and face back to the ocean. "Don't bother. You're all just going to die anyway. Just go home."

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Yeah, sure. Whatever. Just don't stay out here for too long. You'll get sunburnt with that kind of skin."

The child, Inari was his name, turned back to glare at Sasuke but the Uchiha was already walking away. The kid _was_ pretty pale, since there was often a mist that pervaded the area around the house, being on the ocean and all, so they boy very well could get burnt. Of course, the same could be said about Hinata, and yet he still couldn't figure out how she never did burn, even though her skin was so pale.

Just another thing he didn't understand about her.

He walked back to the house and opened the door quietly and closed it. Walking back to the living room, he saw Naruto was already up stretching his back and making it pop every time he strained. After a few seconds, he sighed comfortably and relaxed against the wall, closing his eyes and slowing his breath. Kakashi likewise sat up and groaned from early-morning stiffness.

Sasuke looked over to where Gin sat and decided he'd wake him up. Just as he was about to shake his co-sensei up, Kakashi halted him. "He had a rough day yesterday. Tazuna worked late into the night before sending the workers home, so they both could use some extra rest."

Sasuke looked back to Gin, slowly breathing in sleep, and retracted his hand. Turning back to Kakashi, he saw that Hinata was still asleep and Naruto was getting dressed. Kakashi sighed deeply, simply feeling like doing so and stood up, shakily. He limped over to the table and sat down. "Geez, I feel terrible." He said rhetorically.

"You look terrible," Sasuke said, amused at his own line. Kakashi gave him an empty glare and looked back to his hands.

"Well, that's what I get for going all out like that I guess. Sasuke, today if we can, we're going to do some training since we're going to be here for a while. We might as well take the opportunity to maybe get you three to learn something."

Sasuke looked excited at the thought of training. Not training as in exercising and stuff, but actually learning new things, probably jutsu. Neither one of them noticed Naruto until the door closed behind him as he headed outside.

"Tch, there he goes again. Why does he always wander off like that?" Sasuke muttered under his breath as he grabbed a pitcher of water and poured a glass for himself.

Kakashi watched as Naruto's form disappeared into the forest beyond. "Well, Naruto and Gin both can do things that neither of us can do. From what I can tell neither one wants to show those abilities off though, so Naruto probably goes out to train."

Sasuke thought about that and "hmph"ed as he sipped his water. Then he blinked as he realized something. "Hey, Kakashi-sensei, what was that jutsu Gin-sensei used to fight Zabuza? I've never heard of it before."

Kakashi looked at his student and shrugged. "Who knows? I've never seen it either. In all likelihood it's a secret technique."

"You think he'd teach it to us?" Sasuke asked, glancing over to Gin's sleeping form.

Kakashi shook his head. "Probably not. They're called 'secret techniques' for a reason. It may not even _be_ teachable for all we know."

Sasuke looked at Gin's form curiously. "What do you mean, not teachable?"

Kakashi grabbed a glass of water and sipped it through his mask. "Well, I have this strange feeling I'll have to repeat this, but I guess it can't hurt to tell you." He put the glass down and looked at Sasuke. "There are some abilities that are based around superior genetics and ancestry. They're abilities that can only be passed down through blood, also known as Kekkei Genkai. Hinata's Byakugan is an example of that."

Sasuke looked at Kakashi and then over to the sleeping Hinata. _'Her Byakugan? I see, then whenever I get my Sharingan, I too…'_

He said no more as he thought about Kakashi's information. Presently, Tsunami came into the room. Seeing the two of the awake she smiled brightly at them. "Oh you're awake already! Would you two like some breakfast?"

They both nodded as she went off to make some, including some soup for Hinata whenever she woke up. "So where's the other boy, Naruto was it?"

"Out," was all Kakashi offered.

"Are you sure that's ok? I mean he has stitches and all that, I wouldn't have thought it would be fine to move so soon," she said as she worked on preparing their meals.

Kakashi chuckled. "Yeah well, Naruto has this condition. Any wound he has heals extremely fast. Plus I doubt he'll do much to injure himself; he's not that type."

Tsunami returned with a couple boxes of cereal and some freshly cut fruit. "But what if he meets that Zabuza fellow? Considering how hurt you all were after fighting him all together…" She left her comment unfinished, knowing they got the picture.

The day previous, they'd come to the conclusion that Zabuza was alive and kicking when Kakashi got the hunch that the Hunter-nin that had finished Zabuza off and taken the body had used a non-vital area of the body to "kill" him on prupose. Whether or not it was true was up for debate, but they all assumed he would return.

"I wouldn't worry about him too much yet. If he's still alive, it will take some time for him to recover. That means we also have time to prepare for him. A week or two or so at the least."

Tsunami looked relieved and sat down herself to eat when she saw Gin, sitting their asleep. "He's not awake is he?"

Kakashi looked askance at his ally. "Oh, him? No, he's still asleep." Then he narrowed his eye at him. _'Though I wouldn't put it past him to have been awake this entire time...'_ he thought has he poured his own cereal.

Gin suppressed a smile.

* * *

Naruto walked into the peaceful forest, his feet creating calming, natural sounds as the grass and dirt crushed beneath his heels. At length he came to a small clearing. Smiling to himself he went into the center atop a tree-stump and sat down. Pulling his sword from its sheath, he lay it across his lap and closed his eyes.

It wasn't the first time he'd spoken to his Zanpakuto spirit; he'd done so multiple times in the past few months. After using his Shikai for the first time fighting Mizuki, he'd never been able to do so again. Shinsō said it was because he temporarily allowed him too out of necessity. However, in the past few weeks, he'd managed to communicate with Shinsō much easier and better than he had on previous attempts.

As he opened his eyes, he saw he was in his mind; a beautiful clearing in the middle of the forest with a large moss-covered rock acting as the pedestal he sat on when talked to Shinsō. And of course there was Shinsō, leaning against a tree.

"So you're back."

Naruto sighed. "Yeah… I'm back."

Shinsō blinked curiously. "Well that's one helluva hello. What's on your mind?"

Naruto looked away his face clearly troubled.

"Or should I say, 'what happened?'"

Naruto sighed again. "You already know."

Shinsō frowned but remained silent for a while. After a minute or so of silence he spoke. "A relationship between a Shinigami and their Zanpakuto is one of communication. If we don't communicate we can't work together."

Naruto looked back to Shinsō before looking away again. "…Hina-chan got hurt the other day."

"You did too if I recall. So did practically everyone else on your team."

"…I should have been able to protect her. But I didn't. I almost let her-…" He shook his head as tears brimmed in his eyes. "I almost let her die! How can I forgive myself for that? And right after I told her I loved her! What kind of person am I?"

Shinsō looked at Naruto sympathetically. "Naruto, you know it's not really your fault. You did what you knew you had to do. You can't think of what could have happened but of what _will_ happen."

"But if I hadn't gotten thrown into the water, tou-san could have saved her! Instead he jumped into the water to save me! She was defenseless! How can I justify doing something so stupid?"

Shinsō snarled and yelled at the boy. "How can you _justify_ blaming yourself?" Naruto snapped back in surprise, tears rolling down his face. Shinsō looked at Naruto fiercely. "You took an action and it had consequences. Just as if you had taken any other action, it too would have had consequences. Sure you could say 'if I had done it differently she might not have been hurt,' but you could also make the argument 'if I had done it any other way, she could have died.'"

Naruto went wide eyed in surprise.

"What you did brought about this outcome; No one died. Everyone lived, and the mission continues because of it. Sure someone got hurt. Someone dear to you. But you need to know that everyone will always be at risk of being hurt. If you really want to protect them, you must think about how to do so."

Silence pervaded the calm verdant forest as they both fell silent as Naruto thought about Shinsō's words. The Zanpakuto let out a breath and smiled after several minutes. "Naruto, look at me."

Naruto looked up at his companion.

"Do you remember what I told you the first time we met? The very first time you came here?"

Naruto blinked and looked away bashfully. "Not really. I mean it was all a rush, so I guess I kinda… forgot…"

Shinsō closed his eyes and sighed exasperatedly. "Can't be helped I guess. I'll remind you." He stepped forward until he was only a few feet from Naruto. "'Do what is necessary to win; to protect those precious people of yours. Accept what comes after. Strike a fear in your enemies they will never forget. Anyone who stands in your way will die.' Do you remember that Naruto?"

Naruto pondered the phrase searching his memories for where it may have been hiding. "I… I think so… Now that you said it."

"What do you think I meant by it?"

Naruto crossed his arms and thought about it. Shinsō knew Naruto wouldn't give bullshit answers. He didn't work like that. People may have thought he was a bumbling idiot with brief bouts of lunacy, but the truth was that Naruto was a genius. Shinsō, being a part of Naruto's soul, knew this better than most.

After a while Naruto lifted his head and responded. "I… I'm not totally sure what you meant by it, except the literal translation."

Shinsō nodded. "Exactly. The literal translation is all you're left with no matter how you look at it. But the obvious message isn't what you should be looking it."

Naruto blinked. "You mean, like, and implied meaning or something?"

Shinsō nodded again. "Correct, and what would that implied meaning be?"

Naruto furrowed his brows. This would require introspection of a level he'd never performed before. As Shinsō was a part of his soul, the Zanpakuto would also know what he knew. In essence the Zanpakuto was put manifestation of his soul. So all he needed to do was examine his soul, though that would fall under the "easier said than done" category.

"Take your time on this. Really think about it."

* * *

Naruto's eyes opened to find himself back alone in the forest clearing he'd settled in, Shinsō settled on his lap. He sighed deeply. _'I guess he isn't looking for a quick answer. I'll need to take time thinking about it.'_ He looked to the sky only to see mid-day sun reaching its peak. "Must be a bit past noon," he thought aloud as he placed a hand above his eyes.

He cracked his neck and began his small trek back to the house. When he returned he saw that Kakashi, Gin and Sasuke were gone. Opening the door, he poked his head in and saw Hinata sitting sideways on the couch, staring out the large windows that looked out the windows to the sea.

Smiling gently, he took off his shoes and walked over. Hinata heard his approach and turned her head towards him. "N-Naruto-kun!" She looked surprised, but happy to see him, and then immediately she looked embarrassed and covered her arms around her chest.

Naruto looked at her strangely as she did that. While she wasn't wearing a shirt, it wasn't like she was bare chested; her medical wraps dominated her entire torso. But to Hinata, not wearing a shirt or a bra, felt a bit too self-conscious about it to feel comfortable. If he tried to, he would be able to see the definition of her nipples against the bandages and even the shape and size of her breasts.

But Naruto wasn't one to pry into her privacy, so he picked up a blanket and covered her quickly, realizing it probably wasn't the most proper thing for her to be like that. She blushed thankfully at his action and pulled the blanket over her.

Naruto sat down on the floor and sighed. "How're you feeling this morning? Or… afternoon, I guess."

Hinata smiled and nodded her head affirmably. "I'm feeling b-better. The p-pain has died down s-some, and I can move on my o-own. Kakashi-sensei says at t-this rate I'll be f-fine in a few days, which s-surprised me."

Naruto's eyes widened. "Three days? For several broken ribs that's really, _really_ good!"

Hinata nodded again. "I-I know! He told me it has s-something to do with something G-Gin-sensei did."

Naruto thought back to the bright light that emanated from her when Gin stabbed his sword into her heart. He had yet to ask his father what that was, but he wouldn't forget. He'd ask him eventually.

"Huh, well either way, I'm glad you're alright! I was really worried for a while."

Hinata touched the side of her head where she was bandaged. They'd replaced the bandages twice now; though her ribs were healing miraculously, her head was taking its sweet time. "Y-yeah… S-sorry for w-worrying you…"

Naruto smiled sweetly and placed a hand on her arm. "Hey, it's ok. I'd be worried about myself if I didn't worry about you. Wow, that's a lot of worry, haha!" he rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.

Hinata laughed cutely at him before her thoughts drifted elsewhere. She knew that she and him were alone right now, and she'd been waiting for the opportunity to be so for several days. "N-Naruto-k-kun… D-do… Do you r-remember when I s-said we'd t-talk l-l-later?"

Naruto blushed and nodded. "Y-yeah, I remember." Neither of them said anything, even with Hinata's ample time to prepare what she wanted to say, and even the perfect opportunity to do so, she found it difficult to voice her mind.

After a few minutes of silence, Hinata finally decided to just start off with his name. _'J-Just say what's on your mind Hinata, don't think about what you say; just say it!'_

"N-Naruto-kun… I…" She gulped loudly as her fingers circled themselves nervously. "I-in r-regards to w-what you s-s-said…" Naruto looked at her nervously. Even though he had a pretty good idea of what she would say, he was still anxious.

"I… I-I… I a-a-accept!" she stammered out loudly, much louder than she intended.

Naruto blinked in surprise. "Y-you mean…?"

Hinata didn't, or rather _couldn't_ look him directly in the eyes, but she brought her gaze as high as possible without looking straight into his warm azure orbs. "I-I've always a-admired you, N-Naruto-kun, a-a-and t-think I've grown c-closer to you in the past f-few months. E-even before we we're p-put on the same t-team, I l-l-liked you…" She blinked as she listened to what she was saying, and realizing how she was beating around the bush and not really saying what her heart was crying out to her to say, she shook her head and nearly shouted at him. "N-No! I-I mean, I like you _more_ now-… I mean, I _more_ than like you now! What I'm trying to say is-…"

She froze when she felt the hand that was on her arm slide up to her shoulder. She looked over at Naruto saw him, sitting there with the warmest, most accepting smile she'd ever seen him use. His hand moved again, bringing the edge of his finger to the tip of her chin, raising her gaze to look directly into his cerulean gaze.

Immediately she felt her heart flutter as she saw something inside his eyes that told her she was not only accepted by him, but _wanted_. He wanted her. Like a toy on a shelf, he wanted her with such a passion that he would do anything to get her, and once he had her, he'd make sure she was never lonely again. He would care for her, spoil her, love her, die for her _and_ live for her. She'd never seen it before, but now, it was like she was gazing directly into his soul, like she was seeing Naruto's intentions incarnate.

It was like it wasn't even Naruto anymore. The calm, collected, reserved, careful, awkward Naruto gave way to a much different form. His face literally shined with concern, passion, desire, need, and a determination to have and keep her.

His face neared hers. "It's ok Hinata… just say it… say what you want…"

Her eyes began to feel extremely heavy as the weight of everything she was seeing and feeling from the man in front of her made her realize how much she felt the same way about him. He made her forget herself. His absolute love for her could be felt as clear as the wind on her skin, and as he neared her, it became stronger and stronger, not adding to, but _multiplying_ by numerous magnitudes every millimeter he came closer. This was it; this was what she'd dreamt about for so many years. This was what she wished, hoped, and prayed for. "I…"

His face was only an inch from hers, and she could feel his hot breath on her lips, and she was certain he could feel hers as her heart raced inside her chest, thumping against its cage with such intensity it hurt.

"I-I… I love…"

He stopped, their lips separated by mere atoms as he awaited her answer. And with courage graced from angels themselves, Hinata looked in right in the eyes and declared with such finality and devotion that her soul reached out and grabbed his, searing them together as an eternal bond, never to be broken, never to be parted.

"I love you, Naruto."

And then, like the world fell from both their shoulders, they gravitated toward each other, as if the center of the earth was between their lips. With a shock like lightning, their lips touched, and like magma, melded together and molded into each other. Her arms reached up and wrapped around his neck, pulling on the back of his head, bringing him closer and closer, _painfully_ close to her, even as his own hand circled around her neck, to the back of it, and tugged her forward.

Their eyes closed, as they felt themselves lose grip on reality and fall into their own little world. Just them, no one else. They forgot even themselves as they fused themselves to each other; they were not Naruto and they were not Hinata. They were one, combined in love and dreams, soul and heart. Their lips moved of their own accord, neither of them having the mental strength to stop or even realize what they were doing. Soon, their tongues crept out of their caves and experimentally prodded forward, seeing how the other would response.

Neither of them was disappointed. Both of them allowed the other to toy with each other, massaging and rubbing together. Naruto didn't find it as easy to dominate her as he thought it would be; she pushed back with just as much enthusiasm as he did. This was both of their dreams come true, and both of them were willing to take it with all their might and never let it, or each other go.

At long last they separated in a huffing and puffing of air. They both looked into the other's eyes as they panted. Soon, a pair of smiles snuck across their faces as they realized just how much they both enjoyed, and _needed_ that. After years of repressed feelings, they we're finally being completely open with each other, and neither wanted that to end.

"Hinata… I love you… I love you so much… I can't explain it…" He panted out as he looked at her with overflowing love and adoration.

Hinata looked at him with tears leaking from her eyes and smiled the happiest smile Naruto had ever seen on her. Instead of responding, she grabbed the back of his head and pulled him back down for another soul searing kiss. She, like him, couldn't express her love in words. So she forgot words entirely and decided to show him in action.

They were trapped in each other's embrace for God-knows-how-long before they finally separated again, breathing heavily. Naruto looked at her excitedly and nodded, as if she'd said something to him. "I'm glad… So, _so_ glad…!" He said as his eyes began to water. He wiped them away bashfully, not used to crying; he was a man after all.

Hinata did the same, her tears having poured freely down her face during their make-out session. "N-Naruto-kun, I… I never want to lose you," she said as she kept her arms around him. "I-I don't care what my f-father says, or what the c-clan decides! I'll f-forsake them all for you!"

Naruto looked at her concerned for moment, not wanting her to have to go through something like that, but then he realized, it was her decision. She wanted this bad enough to disown herself from her own family, and that made him swell up with pride.

"I promise you Hinata, I'll do everything I can to love and protect you. I'll do anything I can to make you happy!"

Hinata looked at him with a smile and nodded acceptingly. He bent down and pulled her into a tight hug, doing his best to not hurt her damaged ribs. They stayed like that for several minutes, with Hinata nuzzling the crook of his neck possessively and inhaling his scent, the scent that was now _hers_. No one else could know it like she would. Immediately her mind was taking all those suppressed emotions she'd held inside for all those years and converted them into action and a certain mental state. She finally had what she wanted, and her mind wasn't going to let her lose it.

After a dozen minutes, they were broken from their trance-like state by a low rumbling. Naruto pulled back a little as Hinata blushed, looking away slightly. He laughed amusedly as realized she was hungry. Who knew how long they'd spent like that? It was probably dinner time by now.

"Are you hungry, Hinata?" It was noticeable how he dropped the _–san_ and Hinata smiled joyfully as she knew this was the start of something great. She nodded at him and he reluctantly let her go and went into the kitchen to grab some food. Regrettably they didn't have ramen, so he looked around for something to eat before he froze as he remembered something. "Oh!" he rushed back over to where his bag sat beside the wall and pulled out a small plastic zip-lock with a particular piece of pastry in it.

He walked over and literally dangled it in front of her face with a pleased-with-himself-grin on his face. "Good thing I decided to grab extras before we left, huh?"

Hinata's eyes lit up excitedly as a trio of cinnamon rolls lay untouched inside the bag. Naruto swung them like a pendulum and giggled as her eyes went back and forth, following the food intently.

He laughed at her and finally opened the bag and gave one to her. She took it gratefully and gobbled it down, sighing in contentment afterward. Naruto laughed as he spotted a bit of icing on the corner of her mouth and pointed to it. She wiped it off with an embarrassed chuckle.

Naruto smiled happily. This was the beginning of something amazing, and he had no intention of letting it go. Sadly they couldn't act like this inside the village lest Hiashi kill him or hurt Hinata, and he definitely wouldn't let that happen.

After a while, the team came back exhausted and dirty from helping build the bridge. Naruto acted as if he'd been training all day, and Hinata took his cue and confirmed it. It worked, for the most part. Gin probably suspected something, but he'd never be able to prove it, even if he wanted to.

After some dinner, which was excellent, they all settled down for a good night's sleep.

* * *

It was about midnight when Naruto rose from his bedding. Looking around, he saw everyone was sound asleep. Carefully grabbing Shinsō, he tiptoed across the floor quietly, slipping out the door like a shadow. Unbeknownst to him however, Hinata woke up just as he passed by her couch, his scent waking her as it wafted into her nose. Though she acted as if she was asleep, she watched as he passed by and go out the door. She watched on worriedly as she heard him slip his tabi on and head off to the forest. He was probably just going to train, but she couldn't help but worry for him, even more so now that she knew she had something to lose.

But she also had to trust that he'd be safe. He always was, and Zabuza wasn't scheduled to recover for another few days to a week. There was no reason for her to worry. Convincing herself of that, she lay back down and closed her eyes, willing herself to sleep. She had too many good dreams to have tonight.

* * *

The morning light crested slowly across the mist covered woods. The pale light reflected of the thin fog that cooled the skin of those who walked through it. Haku strode through the woods, basket in hand, off to pick herbs for Zabuza's hastened healing. In truth, he enjoyed early morning walks like this. He didn't like fighting, but he'd do it for Zabuza. That didn't mean he hated peaceful moments. They were hard to get as of late, and he enjoyed what time he could get away from fighting.

He looked around before he saw a small patch of grass with the required herbs he needed sprouting here and there. He happily kneeled down and began picking out the plants required. It wasn't for several minutes of his blissful work that he noticed he wasn't entirely alone in the forest.

He noticed it only when his eyes followed a small group of meadowlarks that fluttered from next to him over to the immobile form of a young boy. Haku looked on in interest, almost mistaking him to be dead. He lay absolutely still, leaned up against a tree.

He got up and walked over to the boy's slumbering form. As he approached, he recognized the Konoha headband slung around his neck and his eyes narrowed. _'This boy…'_ He vaguely remember him from the fight several days ago. He'd been the boy who'd grabbed onto Zabuza's back before the Kiri-nin had thrown him off.

All around him were slash marks on the trees, and even the ground looked like a medieval battlefield. The sword that had most likely caused all the damage was resting on the ground next to his open hand. It had probably fallen from his grasp when he collapsed there. He was covered in dried sweat and smelled of perspiration. He probably trained all night before he fell asleep.

'_This boy is an enemy,'_ he repeated in his mind as he kneeled down next to him. He slid the sword away from his immediate grasp and raised his hand to the boy's throat, preparing to strangle him to death.

But as their skin was just about to touch, he let out an exasperated sigh and moved his hand to the boy's shoulder, gripping it and shaking him gently. _'I'm way too soft.'_

"Hey, you'll catch a cold if you sleep here."

Slowly the blonde's eyes opened and focused on the Ice-wielder. Grunting, he sat up stiffly, looking back at Haku. "Oh, sorry. I was training and I guess I wore myself out…"

Haku decided the best thing to do would be to play dumb. "Training? For what?"

Naruto smiled at what he thought to be a woman. "Shinobi training! I plan on being the best of the best y'know. Can't do that without hard work."

Haku smiled and nodded. "That's right, you need to work hard for your goals. But, you look strong enough already." He looked at the surrounding area as if making a point.

Naruto chuckled as he grabbed Shinsō and placed it back in his sheath. "No, no, I need to get stronger; much stronger."

Haku cocked his head to the side as he began picking more herbs. "Why is that?"

Naruto looked to the side and smiled fondly at the thought of why. "I've gotta prove something."

Haku looked at Naruto curiously. "To somebody else, or to yourself?" Naruto looked back at him curiously, not quite understanding what he meant. Seeing his face, Haku clarified, smiling at him warmly. "Do you have someone who's important to you?"

Naruto blinked and nodded smiling. "Oh yeah, I got a few."

Haku smiled at his answer. "Good. A person becomes truly strong when they have something important to protect."

Naruto thought back to the fight with Mizuki, the only time he'd been able to use Shinsō and access its great power. He'd been protecting Hinata at that time. "Yeah," he said, looking back at Haku. "I guess you're right. How is it that women are always so smart?" He laughed lightly as he scratched the back of his head.

Haku laughed as well and stood, grabbing his basket and smiled at Naruto. "Let's meet again some time."

Naruto nodded affirmably as he too stood. He looked at Haku's back fondly, glad to have met her.

"Oh, and by the way… I'm a boy." Naruto's eyes went to white saucers as he stood their frozen. _'What the f***? This world's totally messed up! I've heard of looking underneath the underneath, but that's just freakin' weird!'_ He blinked, sudden realization hitting him. "Underneath the underneath, huh?" he muttered, placing a hand to his chin.

"There you are, idiot."

Naruto turned to see Sasuke strolling into view. "Everyone was making a fuss about you. We figured you were dead or something."

Naruto laughed and shook his head sarcastically. "Oh well, too bad for you then, considering you probably bet on me dying!"

Sasuke smirked and looked away. "Whatever. Let's head back, it's past breakfast already."

Naruto nodded as he felt the faint pangs of hunger hit him at last.

* * *

"Sooo… climbing trees, huh?" Naruto rephrased as he looked up at the trees they were told to climb.

"Yes. Tree climbing is a basic shinobi skill that everyone is required to learn. You have no idea how handy it comes in as you get older. You don't even realize you're doing it half the time." Sasuke and Hinata looked at their respective trees skeptically.

Kakashi turned to Hinata with a concerned face. "You know you don't have to do this if you're not ready for it."

Hinata shook her head and looked back at the tree. "N-no, I need to get stronger as well." Her eyes held such determination in them that Kakashi couldn't refuse her.

He smiled beneath his mask and nodded. "Don't push yourself too hard."

Naruto looked over at Hinata with a proud smile and cracked his knuckles. "Yosh! So how do we do this?"

Kakashi laughed at Naruto's eagerness. No doubt Sasuke was also ready to get started, but as always, he was content to let Naruto voice it. _'I swear they're like brothers.'_

"Alright, the principle behind this exercise is simple. Simply gather chakra to your feet and use it to suction your feet to the wood as you run alternating it on and off for each step. But be careful, use too little and you'll fall down. Use too much and…"

He didn't even finish before Naruto was several steps up the tree. But on his next step, the tree fractured beneath his foot and he was launched from its trunk and back onto the ground several meters away.

"…and you get blown off." He nearly laughed as Naruto got up, slightly dazed. "Oh, that reminds me." He reached into his back pocket and pulled out three kunai, tossing one to each of his students. "Use those to mark your progress on the tree trunk. Have fun you three!"

And with that he wobbled back to a safe distance to watch, supporting himself on his crutches. Gin had decided to go help Tazuna today so Kakashi could train the genin.

Sasuke closed his eyes and immediately started concentrating before even attempting to climb the tree. After several seconds, he rushed forward, sticking to the tree and ascending. He got up at least four meters before he felt his control slip and he fell back to the earth, but not before he managed to mark the tree.

Naruto tried again and got only three-fourths the height Sasuke did. Still it was pretty good since Naruto had so much chakra. He was already doing better than Kakashi had thought he would. Hinata tried too, but opted to only jog at the tree rather than run at it. It allowed her more time to gather the chakra to her feet for each step.

Sasuke watched in awe as she climbed half the tree on her first try before she felt her control slip. She sliced the tree and fell back to the ground, a faint flicker of pain crawling from her chest.

"Because of Hinata's smaller chakra reserves, she has an easier time controlling it. That's the case for most kunoichi. Low chakra equals better control, but the side effect is that they aren't effective as direct fighters. It's the men's job to make sure their female friends don't die." He gave a Kakashi-smile to Hinata who smiled back at him.

"However, that means that you boys will have a harder time of it. You have more chakra, but that makes it difficult to control. So don't feel bad when Hinata shows you both up."

Naruto and Sasuke gave Kakashi a death glare before they went back to their trees.

Hinata having done well enough on her first try to justify a minute's break, activated her Byakugan to watch as Naruto and Sasuke ran up their respective trees. What she saw was nothing less than astonishing. Not only could she see Sasuke's chakra system she could see weak, deep-violet glow deep in his chest. But it wasn't chakra. If anything, it was more like Naruto and Gin's auras that came out every once in a while.

And speaking of Naruto's aura, she could see it much clearer now for some reason. Like before it was a golden hue, but in addition she could see it as it slowly leaked off of him and into the surrounding air.

She'd never noticed the miniscule intricacies she was now seeing. Even as she watched the small wisps float around her, she was surprised when she looked at herself and saw a deep blue energy in her own chest, and its own small flickers of energy. She watched as Naruto's excess energy expelled from him and floated around before entering into anything it touched.

If it got near to Sasuke, it converted to a purple color and became part of Sasuke's aura, and similarly it would change to dark blue if it got too close to her.

Kakashi likewise had a hazy gray color that resided in his chest and from the intensity of it, it was nearly the same size as Sasuke's. Overall, Naruto's was at least three times as large as theirs and five times as radiant.

They'd said Gin had done something to her to resuscitate her, and Gin had only said it was a kinjutsu. That in and of itself was frightening. There were different levels of forbidden jutsu, but any kind of kinjutsu that saved lives was either very risky, to the user or to the recipient. She had no doubt that whatever it was he did caused this sudden increase of perception. She remembered the mental note she'd made when Naruto had slipped the word "reiatsu" during their fight with Zabuza. _'Spiritual Pressure… could it be that Naruto-kun and Gin-sensei both use some sort of spiritual energy in addition to chakra?'_

It was possible in theory. Chakra was a combination of physical and spiritual energies, so it could be theoretically possible to specialize only in the spiritual side of it. The only problem would be that humans simply didn't have enough spiritual energy to make it effective. It was more logical to simply use combination of spiritual enegy and physical energy.

She watched as Naruto slid off the tree and marked it, but as he fell, she saw a portion of that strange energy pour out of his feet and create a cushion around him as he landed. Then, as soon as he landed, his chakra flared again and he ran back at the tree. If her inkling was correct, Naruto was capable of rapidly switching between chakra and this… reiatsu stuff.

Suddenly her eyes widened. As she examined her own strange energy, she found it was nearly the same size as Naruto's, if not larger. _'W-what did you do… Gin-sensei?'_ she asked herself in disbelief.

She looked back to her own tree and determined to talk to them both tonight before they went to bed. But in the meantime, she had training to do. With a cry, she ran back at the tree. _'I'll show Naruto I'm strong!'_

* * *

"Wheeew…! What a day! Ow! Crap, I think I may have over done it," Naruto commented as he removed his shirt and felt his back muscles stiffen in resistance. Hinata panted lightly as she fell onto the couch. She was exhausted. _'Kakashi-sensei wasn't kidding when he said girls don't have as much chakra; they both must have tried to climb their trees twice as much as me!'_

It was nearly dusk and Gin was on his way home with Tazuna. They'd all have dinner and then go to bed, ready to repeat today's process in the morning.

She watched as Naruto rubbed his sore neck and groaned in pain. "Ow-Ouch! Damn it! Owww…"

Suddenly an idea popped in her head. _'I know _exactly_ how to get Naruto and Gin to talk to me!'_

Both Gin and Naruto were notoriously tightlipped about their private training; Naruto was adamant that even _she_ couldn't know.

"N-Naruto-kun, I can r-relax your b-back for you if you w-want."

Naruto looked at her surprised and then smiled widely in thanks. "Oh, sure! Go right ahead."

She cracked her knuckles as Naruto sat on the floor in front of her. Placing her hands on his back, she was shocked to feel how tight it was. "N-Naruto-kun, don't you ever relax? Your back shouldn't be this stiff!"

Naruto chuckled sheepishly. "Hehe, well, I guess I did go overboard today. Ouch!" He flinched as she pressed her thumbs into his neck.

"S-sorry…" Using what she knew about the human body and the stress points on his back. If there was one thing she was good at, it was knowing the human body. As a Jyuuken user, she needed to know the best points of the body to attack during a fight. Though she wasn't able to see the chakra points along the chakra system yet, she knew she would eventually, and thus wanted to be prepared for when she could.

Collecting chakra to her fingertips, she pressed it into his stiffened muscles, feeling a sense of joy as he sighed and practically melted in her care. "Oooohhhhh yeeeeahhh…"

His back went limp and his head fell back into her knees as he sighed in relief. She laughed at him and pushed his head forward so she could continue. It flopped forward like a wet noodle. "Wooooow, thhiiisss feeeelllssss gooooood…"

He was almost drooling in pleasure as his eyes glazed over. Hinata was quite overjoyed to know he was enjoying it. _'Kami knows, he needs it! He's _so_ tense!'_ She continued this for several minutes before she finally stopped. Naruto looked back to her with a pout and she smiled at him cutely and leaned forward to whisper in his ear.

"If you want more, then tell me what reiatsu is how you use it." If Naruto was stiff before, he was frozen now. He glanced behind him and saw her face was set in stone. She wouldn't take no for an answer. He knew she'd find out eventually, but he didn't want to tell her until he was absolutely ready. That, and he needed Gin's go-ahead before he would even try talking to her about it, because then that led into Gin's backstory and all that. Not an easy conversation to have.

He mulled it over for a few seconds before he looked back to her and nodded just as seriously. "Meet me on the roof after everyone's asleep."

He spoke to her in their code, using a combination of facial tics and body movements to convey the message. He didn't want anyone to know about this.

Getting as close an answer as she was going to get for now, she resumed her ministrations on Naruto's back. Naruto's serious face melted to that of a drooling idiot who was immensely enjoying what his girlfriend was doing.

Sasuke watched them with half amusement, half disgust. _'Geez, they're getting worse and worse… I think I've done something terribly wrong.'_ He blanched at where those two might go in the future. _'Oh dear God…'_

Dinner was served shortly after as Gin and Tazuna stepped through the door. It wasn't anything special; just some fish and some soup, but it was filling and tasty. After cleaning up, they all returned to their beds.

Hinata saw Naruto whisper something to Gin, who (she assumed) glanced at her before turning back to his son and nodding. Soon the lights were turned off and she waited to hear everyone's breathing. Using her Byakugan, she watched from under the covers as everyone slowly fell asleep. In time she watched as Gin slipped out the door, followed by Naruto several minutes later. They both leapt to the roof and began talking, but she couldn't read their lips very well. Deciding it was time to go and join them, she slid her covers off and quietly opened the door, closing it silently behind her.

Gathering her chakra to her feet, she leapt onto the side of the building, using her new ability of tree walking to stick to the wall. From there, she leapt again, grabbing onto the side of the roof and clambering onto it.

Both Naruto and Gin turned at her approach. She stopped several feet from them and looked at them as stern as possible. Naruto looked at Gin, who then looked at Hinata, waiting for her to speak first.

Realizing this, she took a deep breath before she spoke. "Ok… I w-want to know what r-reiatsu is and h-how to use it."

Neither of them spoke for a few seconds, and she continued. "Whatever you did when you r-resuscitated me Gin-s-sensei, it's made me be able to see m-much more with my B-Byakugan. What's more, I've b-been able to see the s-strange energies in b-both you and N-Naruto-kun f-for quite a w-while now."

Both Naruto and Gin looked surprised at that little bit of information. Gin finally sighed and sat down on the edge of the roof, prompting the other two to do the same. "Well, if I'd known that, I'da made sure not to use it around ya. Oh well, can't be helped I guess."

He gestured to Naruto and himself as he continued. "Me and Naru-kun can use spiritual energy. I'm sure you know that spiritual energy is required to use chakra, so you already know how it's formed. The difference between the spiritual energy of a normal chakra user and us, is that we have large reserves of it, since our souls are so strong."

Hinata let it sink in before she questioned them again. "T-then what did you do to me a-after the f-fight with Zabuza?"

Gin was silent and looked reluctant to tell her. But Naruto also turned to him in curiosity, wanting to know just as badly as Hinata did.

Gin realized he was cornered and slumped his head down onto a hand as he looked at them like a disappointed child. "Guess I ain't getting' outa here 'till I tell you two am I?" Without waiting for an answer, he straightened up and looked at Hinata. "Alriiigghht… Where do I start…?" He paused for a few seconds, contemplating where would be best to begin. At length he perked up and look at Hinata again. "If you can see my reiatsu, then you can probably also see that I don't have chakra coils."

Hinata gave a nod affirmably.

"Normally every human has chakra coils, yer born with 'em. So that leaves you with me not being human."

Hinata looked at her sensei in confusion. "B-but what are you if you a-aren't human?"

Gin smirked. "Well, I guess the simplest way to say it is… I'm dead."

Hinata's face was a strange combination of surprise and disbelief. Not knowing how to respond to that, and seeing both of their dead-serious faces, she could only mutter out "T-t-then does that mean N-Naruto-kun's also…?" She wasn't sure she completely believed them.

"Nope. I'm 100% human. Dad though, he's not really alive."

"Yer next question would be how I got this way, or how I got here, but the best way to answer that is to tell you where I'm from." Gin said as he predicted Hinata's next inquiry. Knowing he would continue she remained silent as she sat on the floor of the roof.

"I'm from a place called Soul Society; the Heaven of another world." Hinata's eyes were already wide with astonishment.

"Th-… Then… d-d-does that mean y-you're an a-angel?" Gin twitched in surprise. "Well, that's one way of lookin' at it I guess. Ya see, in Soul Society, there's an organization called the Gotei Thirteen. It's comprised of thousands of different people divided into thirteen divisions. Within each division, there's a ranking structure, with the officers being numbered by seats in descending order of strength. So the Twentieth seat would be the weakest while the Third Seat would be the third strongest."

"W-what about the t-top two?" Hinata asked hesitantly.

Naruto filled in for Gin, since he knew the man wouldn't want to toot his own horn. "The second strongest is the Vice-captain followed by the Captain. Tou-san…" He looked over to his father with a smirk. "Tou-san was a captain."

Hinata looked at Gin with widened eyes, a newfound respect, and fear of her sensei growing steadily in her chest.

"Sanbantai Taicho, Ichimaru Gin," the ex-captain finished for his son.

Hinata felt a foreign shiver run down her spine and the hairs of her neck stand on end.

"Tou-san was a prodigy as a child; he entered into the Shinōreijutsuin when he was young and completed the six year course in only one year, making him the youngest shinigami to graduate and in the quickest time."

As amazed as Hinata was beginning to feel as Naruto praised his father, one word made her eyes shoot wide open in near terror.

"Sh-sh-sh-inigami…? Y-y-you're a-a-a sh-shinigami?"

Naruto blinked at her. _'Ohhh right. She didn't know he was a shinigami, just dead. Oops… Could've probably broke that to her a bit smoother.'_

"Ah.* Everyone with a particularly powerful soul has the potential to become a shinigami, and the privilege to use zanpakuto. We use our powers to guide lost souls to Heaven, or Hell." He conveniently left out Hollows, knowing it wasn't the right time to talk about them. "But I ain't this world's shinigami. I'm from a different place, so I don't manage souls here."

Hinata looked at Gin for a moment before looking away solemnly. For a moment, she'd been both terrified, and hopeful. Her mother had died shortly after Hanabi was born and she'd, just for a moment, wondered if Gin had the ability to bring her back. Realizing it _was_ kind of a long-shot, she mulled over what he'd said before asking another question.

"S-so… h-how'd you get h-here?"

Gin scratched the back of his head and chuckled slightly. _'Oh great, now I gotta explain the Dangai too.'_

"Well, y'see, there's a tunnel between Soul Society and the living world that's used to get from one place to another. Short story is, I found a small tear in the walls of the Dangai, the name of the tunnel world, and slipped through. Fact is, everyone thinks I'm dead back in Soul Society and I'd like to keep it that way."

Hinata nodded her head, understanding at least a little of what he was saying. After a few seconds, she looked back at the both of them and asked, "So… what's a Z-Zanpakuto?"

Gin drew Shinso out of its sheath and showed it to her. "A Zanpakuto is the weapon we shinigami use. They're powerless at first, but by pouring our reiatsu into it, over time, we come to know them."

"K-know them?" Hinata asked, wondering why he talked about them like they were a person.

"A Zanpakuto is the manifestation of our souls, an' provide us with incredible power. They got personalities and they got names. This here's Shinsō, my Zanpkauto."

Naruto drew his wakizashi as well and proudly held it aloft. "And this is my Zanpakuto, Shinsō."

Hinata looked from one sword to the other. There were only a few slight differences; chiefly being that Naruto's had an orange and gold handle while Gin's was cyan and gold. Other than that, both were the same size, same shape, and even their guard was the same. "B-but if they're the same, t-then doesn't that mean y-you and N-Naruto-kun have the same s-souls?"

Gin scratched his chin as if in in thought. "I've been wonderin' about that myself. From what I know, it's a rare occurrence, and usually the two have to fight it out for the right to use the Zanpakuto. Winner takes all, loser gets put six feet under."

Hinata stiffened at the thought of Naruto dying just so he could use a sword that was simply a reflection of his soul. She was silent for a while, looking down at her hands in her lap. Neither Gin, nor Naruto knew exactly what she was thinking at the moment, and neither knew exactly what to expect. Naruto, worried about what Hinata might think of him now, stepped forward and sat in front of Hinata.

"When I was six, I was attacked and nearly died," he started depressingly. Hinata looked up at him in surprise. She hadn't known that!

"Right before they were about to kill me, they got scared and ran off. I tried to get to where someone could find me, and fortunately, tou-san did. Since I didn't have anyone to take care of me, he adopted me. Eventually he told me who he was and why he was here, and told me he could teach me to defend myself the only way he knew how; the shinigami arts."

He paused and let it all sink in. Hinata took the opportunity to interject. "But you've been a-alone for a-as long as I can r-remember. Where was G-Gin-sensei?"

Now it was Naruto's turn to look down at his hands. Gin, knowing it was probably best for him to explain _himself_ got up and sat down next to them both. They were now in a triangle not two feet from each other.

"Truth is, I left." Gin announced regretfully.

Hinata blinked in surprise. In all the short time she'd known him, she'd never have guessed Gin would leave Naruto alone, for _any_ amount of time.

Seeing her expression, he continued. "At the time, I still had some unfinished business in Soul Society. It wasn't like I left without a word though; I told him I'd be back soon. Problem was that I didn't know time moves faster in this world than in Soul Society and the living world. A month and a half was nearly six years here. By the time I returned Naruto was almost thirteen."

Hinata thought back to the first night she'd met Gin, back in that dark forest with nobody around except a dying Naruto and a murderous Mizuki. "I see… S-so that was when you g-got back?"

Gin nodded, knowing what she was thinking about. "Mhm. After that, I swore I'd never leave Naruto alone again." He placed a lanky hand on Naruto's head affectionately.

"T-then Naruto must have a really strong s-soul to use that Zanpakuto?" It was more of a question than a statement, and Gin nodded. "He does. And you do too."

Hinata's head twitched back. "B-but how? I was n-never able see that e-energy in me before last week. How did I g-get it?"

Naruto loked back to Gin. They'd come full circle in their explanation, and now he only awaited Gin's revelation. He too wished to know. He'd never been able to feel as much reiatsu from Hinata as she now passively exuded. "…When you almost drowned after that fight, I used a forbidden technique that transfers some of my powers to another person for a period of time. Doing that gave you a lot of power. Odds were though, it wouldn't have worked on anyone else."

"Wha… What would have happened if it d-didn't w-work?" Hinata inquired hesitantly. Gin's resulting silence was the only answer she needed. _'I would have died.'_

"…In the end though, it was necessary. A strong soul won't separate from the body naturally. So I made your soul strong enough to stay attached to you and resist death. A small side effect is your new energy."

Hinata looked down at herself as she held her hands out, gazing into her palms as if she would find some ancient secret hidden therein. At length she perked up and became suddenly excited. "T-then, does that mean I can have the same p-powers as y-you and Naruto-kun?"

Naruto also looked at Gin excited at the question. Even though having unique powers was cool and all, Gin could tell Naruto deeply craved somebody his own age and of his own skill who could share experiences with him. Not only that, but to have that person be Hinata, whom he was already smitten with, would be like a dream come true.

Gin rested his head on a hand and looked at Hinata silently, gauging both her current spiritual power and quickly predicting her growth rate and potential. With his own powers as a boost, he'd be able to enable her to get her own Zanpakuto in no time.

Hinata shifted slightly uncomfortably under his gaze, but was no less eager to hear his decision. Soon enough he grinned and huffed out a single laugh. "If I say yes, you gotta promise me you'll do everythin' exactly as I say, not to tell anyone, and…" He paused and leaned in to whisper something discretly in her ear.

She listened intently before blushing madly and reflexively turning to him in shock. "G-Gin-sensei!" She stammered out timidly as she immediately averted her gaze.

"Well? What's to lose?" Gin said in a friendly voice as he shrugged for emphasis. Hinata stayed silent for several seconds before looking back up with a stern, and determined look. Her eyes were hard and focused. "I will!"

Gin smirked at her smugly. _'Those are good eyes…'_ She was prepared; she'd made her decision.

_'I'll do anything he wants me to, as long as I can have the power I need to be strong. Then next time…'_ She smiled as she looked over to Naruto's excited face as he heard the news, conveniently not asking about what Gin had whispered to her.

'…_next time I'll be the one to protect Naruto!' _She smiled to herself confidently. She knew the road ahead would be rough, but in the end, if all went as planned, it would be worth it. _Well_ worth it.

* * *

**A/N: And there's chapter eight! I hope you all enjoyed it! Originally I was going to have this be a part of chapter seven, but as you can guess, it would have been far too long. **

**So Hinata has some power to work with! AND she'll be getting her Zanpakuto soon? GASP! OMGOMGOMG! Excited, no? Well take that excitement and _put it into words _by REVIEWING! Its that shiny little button down below! Expect tthe next chapter soon! **

**Also...**

**Ah*: I'm not sure the romanji for it, but phonetically it means "yeah." I'm sure many of you anime fans hear it all the time. Similar to "Mm," which is another way to say "yes." **

**'Till next time! KH, _out!_**


	9. Chapter 9: Judgment

**A/N: And I'm here again! I know, I didn't update last week, but like I said, with school now, I won't be able to update as frequently. However, this chapter was originally going to be twice as long as it is now. However, I thought I'd save the other half for the next chapter, giving me some room to laze around before finishing chapter 11. Yeah, you heard me. TWICE as long. See that nifty little scroll bar to the right? Imagine it twice as small. Yeah. I know. Moving on.**

**My appreciation extends to those who reviewed last chapter, being** deltawaves, cmcwiki, Tikitorch559, reven228, ian904, EVA-Saiyajin, HolyKnight5, Vallavarayan, Chewie Cookies, Hee-Ho Master, Leonineus, Ookami88** (with whom I've been having some in-depth and entertaining conversations with :D),** DarkxPrince, ladon's Avatar, Orchamus, YoukoTaichou, ShadowStar91, pyromania101, Flan-Bridge, Amanuet, SpeeDemon, Skelo, animegamemaster6, KantonKageX, Ryuujin96, asredwer, Chooser of the Slain, Cross on the Hill, shankstar89, Keiren-Kun89,** and **Hypothetical Spiritual Entity.** IMO, its getting easier to spell your guys' names. Yay!**

**Now, I've been replying pretty much everyone's reviews as they come in, but I think it's best that I just say this here, since so many of you are asking for it. Hinata will NOT get Haineko as a Zanpakutō. I know, it would be a cool coincidence if she got the same one, for multiple reasons, but I'm not going to be cloning Zanpakutō for the sake of coincidence. Remember, and most of you do, my motto when writing FanFictions is **"Plausibility over Possibility." **That means that even though I or a story character probably COULD do something, it doesn't mean that they WOULD within the confines of their character. Anyway, Hinata will get her OWN, personal, **_**unique **_**Zanpakutō in the future.**

**Also, I thought I'd clear up an issue regarding Bleach canon. Having large amounts of exuding reiatsu does NOT mean that those around them will gain new powers over time. That was the original belief until Aizen proved otherwise. It was the HOUGOKYU that was inside of Rukia that gave Chad and Orihime their powers. The most excess exuding reiatsu would do to those constantly exposed it give them spiritual awareness, like Keigo, Tatsuki and others. However, wandering spirits don't exist in **_**this/my**_** Naruto Universe and that will be explained much later on. **

**Due to popular request, I will only reveal that Hinata's Zanapkauto will NOT be an elemental type. It will be something much more... like **_**her**_**.**

**And like I said in the last chapter's intro Author Note, I will be exploring a much **_**different**_** approach to the Zabuza Haku dilemma. Some people let them live, some let only Haku live. Some kill them both off like usual. I however, have a different plan in store for them, perhaps only a few of you will notice it. I hope you have your thinking caps nearby, cuz you're gonna need them! **

**After watching some of the earlier Bleach episodes, I found I was using Gin's accent a bit too sparingly. In the early episodes, his accent is **_**really**_** thick, so I'll be changing that as best I can. Also, I made a mistake, its not Kansai dialect, its Kyoto dialect. Kansai is the process Shinigami use to send wandering souls to Soul Society. HAHA- oops.**

**Enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

**Konoha's Silver Shinobi,**

**Chapter 9: Judgment **

The following week was brutal for Hinata as she struggled to learn the basics of spiritual energy and its uses. Gin gave her instructions and Naruto taught her the methods of how to do it. She could already gather energy into her body, and the first thing Gin was teaching her was an ability called **Shunpō. **

Like **Shunshin**, it was an ability that allowed rapid relocation on the battlefield. Unfortunately, it's was much harder to grasp than **Shunshin**. While similar in theory, the execution of either was drastically different **Shunshin** was simply the near teleportation from one point to another. Using one massive leap, it allows the user to move at high-speeds toward the target area.

**Shunpō** was different. **Shunpō** required, instead of one leap, multiple steps, each one proportionately as strong as the amount of energy you put behind it. It was meant to be used in quick succession whereas **Shunshin** was never mean to be used more than to escape or to get the drop on someone.

Even so, she was certain no one her age had actually practiced **Shunshin** yet. They may have been training to get their speed up, but fresh genin weren't even near the level of control or chakra capacity to use **Shunshin**.

And here she was learning something better.

"Ok Hina-chan! Again!" Naruto called out from several paces away.

She grit her teeth and wiped away some sweat from her brow with her sleeve. Gathering her Reiryoku around her feet, she took a deep breath and vanished, Naruto doing the same as soon as he saw her.

They'd been doing this all day; a simple game of tag was the best way to learn **Shunpō**. The desire to catch the other person and the basic principles of the game made for an excellent training program. Hinata was tasked with being the chaser while Naruto ran around trying to avoid her. Since Hinata had already completed the tree-climbing exercise, she knew how to use chakra to suction her feet to an object, but now she was doing the exact opposite and with a different energy that had to be molded a different way.

That was another thing. Learning to use her Reiryoku had been a pain. First she had to learn how to access it, then she had to learn how to mold it. Accessing it was easy with Naruto's help, but molding it was becoming quite a problem.

"Kakashi'll teach you two Jutsu. I'll teach you Kidō. I hope yer both prepared for double the work." Gin had said that when they began training.

She hadn't seen any Kidō yet, though she knew Gin knew them all and even Naruto knew quite a few. But first she would work on Hoho, speed techniques that would prepare her for Kidō. Hoho, allowed her to learn to call upon her energies a moment's notice and use them to move.

For Kidō, she would need to learn how to summon her powers and then mold them to fit the technique. It was tricky business, but she was willing to go through with it.

Kakashi and Sasuke were at the bridge while Gin stayed back at the house for some reason. She hadn't asked why, but neither did she complain; that just meant she could have some private time with her boyfriend, even if it was only training.

"C'mon Hinata! You're spacing out again!" Naruto called from further ahead. Hinata blinked and found herself losing distance from Naruto.

"I-I'm not spacing out!" She stammered and redoubled her efforts to catch him. Naruto was good at **Shunpō**, but he was far from a master. He said that with their current powers, if they gave all they had into one **Shunpō**, they could both only probably go a dozen miles in distance. That was also how he told her to measure her steps. Each **Shunpō** step's distance would combine and eventually equal twelve miles; their limit. Currently with the amount of steps she'd taken, she was over halfway there.

Naruto on the other hand could **Shunpō** much further than she could with relatively the same energy she was using for her smaller steps. So while they both had the same distance, he had, overall, used less energy than her.

_'Somehow I get the feeling he lied about his limit…'_ she thought to herself as they weaved between trees, Naruto alternating between reiryoku and chakra as he used **Shunpō** to launch himself at a tree and then stick to it.

He may not have mastered the tree-climbing exercise in the strict sense of climbing the tree to the top, but he _had_ mastered it in the way he was using it now. Even Hinata had trouble shunting one power over the other. Gin had said it would be harder for them than it was for him since they had two energies to use, and neither one could be used together. He'd only had to focus on reiryoku, while they had chakra to deal with.

She understood what he meant now. But as she looked at Naruto, she felt a sudden realization dawn on her. _'Naruto-kun… I'm sure that it would be hard for even Kakashi-sensei to alternate between the two, and you're doing it so easily…'_ She watched as he twisted in the air and began dashing in the same direction backwards, sending a reassuring and playful smile her way.

She smiled back and leapt after him. _'Even if you don't realize it Naruto-kun, you're_ _a genius!'_

With a shout, she leapt forward with more power than she realized she put into it. To her and Naruto's astonishment, she barreled right into him, knocking them both down to the ground. They both lay there, panting heavily with smiles on their faces. Hinata laid her head on his chest, since she'd fallen on top of him. It was peaceful, just sitting there with not a worry in the world. His arms slipped around her and hugged her close to him. Even though they were both hot and sweaty, the air currents running across the forest floor cooled them enough to make their position pleasant.

She didn't know how long they stayed like that, simply relaxing and cooling down, but it wasn't for a while that either of them spoke. Naruto was the first. He sat up and looked to her lovingly. "We should probably head back. It's almost evening now, and they'll be coming back from the bridge any time."

Hinata nodded and stood, taking his hand as he helped her up. A loud grumbling filled the forest and Naruto laughed at himself. "I dunno about you Hina-chan, but I need to eat!"

Hinata giggled and took his hand in hers as they leapt back into the trees, Naruto happily slowing down for her. "Say Hina-chan…" Naruto turned to her questioningly. "What d'you say I take you out on a date when we get back?"

Hinata blushed and thought about it. "I-I'd love to Naruto-kun, b-but, will father allow it…?"

That was always the clincher. Even though she really didn't care about what he thought, it was important to their relationship that Hiashi approved of their actions. Naruto smiled reassuringly. "Not a problem! As your boyfriend it's my job to take you out on dates! The only problem is that tou-san said your dad spies on us."

Hinata sighed and nodded knowingly. She'd known that since the beginning. Hiashi didn't give her the benefit of the doubt; he just out told her, "I'll have guards keeping an eye on your activities throughout the village."

He was basically saying he didn't trust her. Either that or he didn't trust Naruto.

_'Probably both of us.'_ She didn't say anything, but now had the pleasure of looking forward to their eventual date. "W-we'll just h-have to b-be c-careful."

Naruto looked disgusted. "Aww, that means I can't hug you like I mean it or hold your hand," he grumbled. _'Or kiss you like I'd planned…'_ he finished with a blush, though he didn't want her to know about that. If he could manage it, he'd still try to do it, regardless of who was watching. Since it would be their virgin kiss, he wanted it to be the most meaningful thing he could make it. _'Well, at least until we-…'_

He cut himself off from going any further; those were thoughts for another time.

They made it back to the house around dinner time. The sun had already set and the light in the house were clearly indicative of the festivities inside. They jumped from the trees to the ground and ran the rest of the way to the house. Naruto opened the door for her and followed her in. Once inside, they were both assaulted by the smell of spiced fish, sweet curry, fruits and vegetables, and toasted bread. It was considerably more than what they usual had.

When the door closed behind them, Kakashi looked at them with a smile. "Well well, finally got home did you? We we're getting worried."

"We we're betting on whether you'd kill yourselves out there," Sasuke said as he drank out of his glass. Tazuna, slightly inebriated, raised a sake glass to them and cheered. "Hey you two, the bridge is almost done! We're celebratin' it tonight! Should be done in a few days."

Naruto didn't complain as he took his seat, but he couldn't help but ask, "Then why not wait until it's actually finished to celebrate?"

Tsunami sighed and looked at her joyous father. "Well, dad thinks it's the right time, and who am I to argue with a bridge builder?" She shrugged out an exasperated smile as she explained. Naruto also really couldn't complain. They didn't have ramen, but it would have to do. "Personally I don' care. The food's delicious, so i's all good," Gin said as he took a bite of his grilled fish.

Naruto exchanged a look with Hinata that clearly said "our team's pathetic" before they both happily dug into the meal.

If they'd known what was to happen the next morning, they would have reconsidered the feast.

* * *

Everyone ate their fill and soon fell asleep, their bodies recognizing their fatigue instantly upon their meal's completion. Bidding each other good night, they fell fast asleep. That is, except a certain blonde boy. When Hinata woke up around midnight for a glass of water, she noticed that he wasn't in bed, and when she activated her Byakugan, he wasn't in range. Granted her range wasn't all that big yet, but she could still see at least a kilometer away. While she worried about him, she knew she shouldn't pursue him.

He'd come back when he came back.

Naruto would often times wander off to do who knows what, leaving no trace of his purpose or destination. Whether he was aware of this or not, she didn't know, but she did know that every time without fail Naruto would come back, and usually apologize with a warm, sympathetic smile. Even though it was midnight and no one really cared where he went in the middle of the night (considering the lack of private time to release hormonal tension, or so Kakashi believed), she still worried about him. If it was something she could help with, she wanted to do her best to do so.

_'It may not be any of my business, but I'd like to help him as much as I can.'_

She kept her Byakugan active as she filled her glass, drank it, and then lay back down to sleep again. She kept up her watch for half an hour before sleep caused her eyes to seal shut, her Byakugan deactivating in the process.

* * *

Naruto's true whereabouts were three kilometers into the forest, secluded and alone. He needed absolute solitude to access Shinsō. For some reason, the Zanpakutō wouldn't talk to him in the relative presence of others. Though the spirit said it was only because Naruto's inability to use shikai that he needed seclusion. Naruto assumed it was because the Zanpakutō wanted Naruto completely focused.

Settling into Jinzen, Naruto sighed as he entered his inner world. Shinsō stood there, as usual, leaning against a nearby tree. Naruto stood several paces away, hands in his pockets and eyes on the ground a few feet in front of him.

"Welcome back." The Zanpakutō offered with a smile as Naruto approached. "So… tell me what you've learned."

Naruto leaned his head back and sorted his thoughts through. He'd contemplated a lot about the question posed to him by Shinsō the previous week. He'd taken some serious time out to mull it over, even going so far as to space out during training (only occasionally though). The words were stuck deep in his heart, cemented there. Even if he never learned the underneath of the underneath of the phrase, they were still great words to live by.

"I've thought about it pretty hard, and I can't be sure it's the right answer, but it's what I believe it means." He looked up at the blue sky, sparsely seeded with thin wisps of clouds. "Do what is necessary to win; to protect my precious people. Accept what comes after. Strike a fear in my enemies they will never forget. Anyone who stands in my way will die."

He repeated the words as if they were his motto. He trailed off for a few minutes before speaking again.

"I suppose 'winning' for me wouldn't be so much a fight as attaining a goal. My goal is to protect my friends and family. And I'll do everything humanly possible to do that."

Shinsō smirked at him. "Anything? You realize what you're insinuating right? 'Anything' encompasses an infinite range of actions. It could mean giving up something you cherish. It may cause the people you love to hate you. It may even require you endure the harshest of hardships ever; choosing between one loved one or another."

Naruto was silent and impassive as he listened to Shinsō's diatribe without batting an eye. "Yeah, it may mean that. But if it came to that, I probably wouldn't care if they hated me, as long as they were safe from harm. And as far as choosing between one or the other, the Hell, why would I bother? I'd just remove the obstacle making me choose."

Shinsō quirked an eyebrow. "And what if that obstacle was Hinata?"

Naruto's eyes found their way glaring at his Zanpakutō dangerously.

"I just said it," he said lowly, but with a strange smug sound to it. "I'd remove the obstacle. In other words, I'd make the obstacle irrelevant."

Shinsō didn't look convinced in the slightest. "That kind of makes you sound like a hypocrite; saying she's your precious somebody and then saying you'd make her irrelevant."

"I didn't say I'd make her irrelevant in my heart. She will always be the only one for me. If she was the obstacle, I'd make it so she wasn't anymore. That's all. Same goes for anyone else I cherish."

Shinsō smiled and nodded. "I guess coming from you, that's the best I'm going to get. But…"

Naruto looked up at him, somewhat surprised that the Zanpakutō accepted his answer.

"I can't allow you to use me yet. Or rather, you _wouldn't_ be able to use me yet. There's something about me you have yet to learn before I can lend you my power."

Naruto blinked in surprise. "Well, I'm all ears," he said expectantly, with the same expression he wore when Hinata would reveal something about herself; intently interested in it. Not how to use that information to his advantage, but genuinely interested in simply knowing more about her.

That was the face Shinsō was looking for. Like any human being, Shinsō wanted a friend to share secrets with, likes and dislikes, and someone to fight alongside; to be part of a pair where both knew each other and trusted each other with their lives.

The spirit smiled sincerely before it turned into a mix of both mischievous and slight annoyance. "It's a fact about myself that you have to find out. I'll give you two hints, and then you'll have to take it from there."

Naruto looked expectantly at the living sword, almost rocking on his heels as he listened.

"Clue number one, is 'nothing is as it seems.'" Naruto nodded, getting the idea. "And clue number two is that Gin's Shinsō is no different than yours. We are the same."

Naruto blinked and murmured to himself curiously. Shinsō's eyes rolled at the bonde. _'I can't believe he hasn't noticed yet… He's a genius ninja but a moron person.'_

Naruto didn't say anything for a while as he thought about his Zanpakutō's challenge. _'Ok, so it's something about Shinsō himself. Nothing is as it seems and the two are the same huh? Hmm… What would them being the same have to do with finding out about my Shinsō. I guess I could ask tou-san about it, but for some reason he's saying it like I should already know. So, I guess I already know what I need to…? Gah, I'll start with the other clue. Nothing's as it seems makes it sound like everything I know about him is possibly wrong.'_

Even as he finished the thought, the first thing to pop in his mind was an image of that girl, er, boy he'd met in the woods the previous week.

He audibly scoffed at himself. _'Heh, yeah, that _definitely _wasn't what it seemed.'_ He shook his head amusedly at the memory. _'I must have called him a girl, like, three times and then he only told me he was a guy when he left.'_

Suddenly his expression froze and his eyebrows lowered. Suddenly the wheels began turning and clicking inside his mind as he made a face of skeptical disbelief. _'Naaaww… that's not it. It couldn't be.'_

Desperately trying to prove his impossible conclusion wrong, he took what he came up with and went through his memories of what Gin had said. Every single word, syllable by syllable ran through his mind. He hadn't forgotten a word of what his adoptive father had said during their training sessions, committing it to the deepest bowels of his memory, carving it into his mind.

But something was off. Extremely off. He hadn't really noticed it before, and assumed it was just a slight difference between the two, but now that Shinsō had said they were exactly the same, that no longer made sense.

He broke his gaze from the inside of his brain and looked at Shinsō. He didn't want to think he was right because this would be _extremely_ awkward, but he couldn't shake the feeling of dreadful correctness in his theory.

"Ok, um, right… I _really _hope I'm wrong about this- and for the record this is just a random, completely out there answer, but…"

Shinsō raised an amused eyebrow but didn't move to interrupt him. Naruto took a deep breath and with a look of desperate hope to the contrary, rapidly spilled out the question. "…You wouldn't happen to be a girl would you?"

Naruto was met with silence, but it wasn't the silence of incredulity, nor the silence of impending doom for asking the question. It was the silence of not denying the accusation. Shinsō laughed gently and sighed, leaning off his tree and moving closer to Naruto's sitting form.

"You know, it took Gin a few months to figure it out too, but he was on his own, and he didn't have any clues." Suddenly Naruto's eyes widened as his Zanpakutō's form seemed to change with each step, the masculine form melting into a more feminine figure, the tan kimono-like top gaining a ghosting stem of numerous marigolds climbing the fabric. The heavy, thick and bulky pants dropped from the spirit's waist, pooling around the Zanpakutō's ankles as it stepped out of them like it was a normal occurrence.

As the pants fell, the bottom half of the kimono fell down from where it seemed to have been tucked into the pants. As her feet left the mound of fabric covering them, the ninja tabi shoes vanished and weren't replaced, leaving the now womanly image barefoot as she continued to step forward. Her scaly skin was replaced by a light tan. She removed her straw hat and let her silky black hair fall from within, shaking her head as it fell to the small of her back.

"Honestly, I'm sure Gin must have said "'er" a million times. I'm surprised you didn't make the connection, though considering how I looked, you probably thought it was just a discrepancy between the two of your Zanpakutō."

Her narrow eyes widened in shape just enough to make their sapphire blue orbs less menacing and more attractive. Her mouth still had its fangs, but her slithering tongue suddenly looked seductive and alluring.

At some point during her approach, Naruto had fallen over and began crawling backward way from her in pure shock as he tried to understand what was going on. "H-h-h-h-hold on a minute! H-how are you a girl?" Naruto stuttered out almost unintelligibly.

Shinsō giggled at him cutely, only serving to confuse him as to her true gender even more. She played a guy so well that Naruto was unsure what to believe. "Hmhm, well, you see Naruto-kun," she almost whispered out in a seductive voice. "I've always been a woman. I just disguised myself as a male Zanpakutō for the initial trials, which you passed."

Naruto soon found his back to a particularly large tree that he couldn't quickly scurry around even if he had the clarity of mind to do so. Naruto looked both disturbed, and exasperated.

"That's the weirdest ass test I've ever taken." He was about to comment further until he saw the woman bend down to her knees and snake her way over to him, until she was practically lying in his lap.

Naruto, in his desperation for space had left his legs open and Shinsō took complete advantage of that, sliding between them and crawling up his chest like a temptress. Naruto's blush bloomed as red as the rising sun as he wished for nothing more than to merge with the tree behind him and slip through it. Shinsō smirked as she closed the distance between their faces. Her kimono loosened as she pressed her chest into his and Naruto could clearly see her abundant cleavage when he looked down.

"Eyes up Naruto-kun…" She all but whispered as she guided his gaze back up to her face with a slender finger.

Suddenly Naruto felt an aura of seriousness fall over the two of them. He just sat there, unable to move, but unable to look away from her eyes. After some time, he didn't know how much, had passed, Shinsō spoke again.

"Your soul Naruto, is a strong one," she said at last, dropping the seductive disposition. "Do you know why I'm so deceptive?"

Naruto blinked and shook his head. "Because I've grown up in a world of ninja?"

She smiled but shook her head as well. "No, but it's a valid guess. Has Gin ever told you why he left Soul Society to come here?"

Naruto looked at her with new interest. Gin had never been open with him about that. It was one of the few things he kept to himself, and from the way he looked every time he asked about it, he assumed it must be painful for Gin to even think about it. Few could recognize it, but Gin had many different smiles, and Naruto could read most of them. The only times Gin didn't smile was when it regarded something about the Jinshuuriki's safety or something surprising. Then again, Gin sometimes frowned in disgust too, though it was more often when he was younger than nowadays days.

Shinsō, taking Naruto's silence as an answer, continued. "When he was young, he met a young girl…"

"Rangiku?" Naruto asked, knowing this part of the story. Even though Gin said she was someone important to him, and Naruto assumed it was in a romantic way, the silver haired man didn't speak much about her. But Naruto never forgot her name.

"That's right, Rangiku. She was injured and starving, and he saved her. Soon after, he met the man who was behind her injuries, and vowed to kill him. To do that, he became his most trusted subordinate, and when the time was right, he betrayed him. Had it not been for certain factors, the man would have died. But for a near century, Gin was the villain; he did that man's bidding to the letter, and when the man turned against Soul Society, Gin followed him, becoming an enemy of the very woman who he vowed to protect. In the end, Gin was willing to take on all sorts of burdens, even the hardest burden of all; knowing the person he loved most felt betrayed, when he knew she couldn't find out about his true objective."

Naruto listened in rapt fascination. Gin had never told him the full story, nor ever expressed his full feelings on the matter. It was refreshing to finally get the whole picture.

"Gin deceived everyone, even those who thought they knew him. But he was willing to do it, for the protection of those he loved."

Naruto lowered his gaze as he realized why Shinsō was so intent on knowing what he would use his power for when they first met.

"You Naruto…" Naruto looked back up as Shinsō addressed him again. "…you have that same desire to do anything and everything necessary to protect your precious people. That's why I am also your Zanpakutō. You share Gin's soul, his desire."

Naruto didn't know what to say. He was always his secret honor to use the same Zanpakutō as Gin, but now as he heard those words, he didn't just use Shinsō, he was chosen by her.

Shinsō smiled at the blond below her. At the very base of their beings, Naruto and Gin were exactly the same. External factors made them different, but they were born twins at heart. Their bodies were different, but the soul was the same. There was simply no denying it. "Naruto, now that you know about me, and about yourself, my power is at your service. Practice with me, and don't forget why you use me."

Naruto looked up at her and with a nodded fiercely. He turned around to leave, when he hesitated for a second. Shinsō gave him a curious look, though he couldn't see it. After a moment, he turned his head to stare at her.

"What's wrong?" She asked, confused.

Naruto scratched his chin and averted his gaze, as if pondering something. "Y'know, I don't know if this is technically bragging, but you're a beautiful Zanpakutō."

Shinsō's eyes widened in surprise before she smiled at him gratefully. Though neither of them noticed, she was sporting a very thin blush that stretched across her cheeks. "I won't call it bragging if you won't." She said with a playful glint in her eyes.

With a smile, he vanished from his soul, back to the real world. Shinsō smiled as she looked at the cloudless skies. "Such a pure heart… That girl really is lucky."

* * *

Hinata woke up to find Naruto sleeping soundly on the floor, his deep breaths muffled from beneath his pillow, which was interestingly on _top_ of his head. She giggled as she realized he was probably trying to blind his eyes from the morning light that was pouring in from the windows, knowing he'd stayed up late that night. Kakashi-sensei was already up and sitting at the table, not doing anything really, but his little orange book sat beside his cereal. Sasuke was struggling to wake up and Gin was missing.

Kakashi looked over at her and smiled. "Well good morning Hinata-chan," he said as he gave her a little wave. "I trust you slept well?"

She nodded and got up, stretching her stiff muscles. _'I must have not moved once while I was asleep,'_ she thought as she stretched her right arm out and heard it pop a few times. She wasn't sore, but she did feel a tad weak. _'Probably from all of that training I've been doing with Naruto-kun. If I'm using spiritual energy, then my soul must be tired too, not just my body.'_

She yawned and shuffled over to the table followed soon after by Sasuke. Grabbing some cereal, she poured it into a bowl and washed it over with some milk. Kakashi looked over at Naruto, breaking the silence that had settled on them. "Naruto must have trained into the dirt last night. He doesn't look like he'll be waking up any time soon."

"Naruto trained last night?" Sasuke asked, curious.

Kakashi nodded. "Oh sure, he's been training every few nights on his own, though to be honest I just found out about it myself when Gin told me this morning."

Hinata, not wanting to reveal she'd known about it for a long time, changed the subject to something more important and less revealing about Naruto's habits. Somehow, she felt as if them discussing Naruto without him aware of it was like gossiping about something he didn't want publicized. "What about you, Kakashi-sensei?"

"Hm?" Kakashi gave her surprised look.

"Well…" Hinata began, swallowing some cereal. "You've been w-wiped out since that f-fight with Zabuza. How are you r-recovering?"

"Ahh, about that…" he flexed his left fist so hard his knuckles cracked. "I'm doing just fine. In fact, I'll be able to come with you guys to the bridge today."

Both Sasuke and Hinata looked pleased to hear it. Both of them had only been to the bridge a few times, and only once each alone. It was nerve-racking, being on that bridge and knowing that you could get jumped at any minute. Kakashi's assurance that even if Zabuza was alive, he wouldn't be recovered yet to fight them did help a little, but it didn't stop their minds from wandering into anxiety and paranoia.

Most of the time, Gin went to the bridge by himself leaving the three genin to train with Kakashi and look after Tsunami and her son Inari. Every few days, they would all take a break and the bridge would be vacant for a day off. Those were the days Gin gave Naruto and Hinata their own specific training schedules for the next few days he'd be gone.

"The bridge is almost done actually," Tazuna said as he stepped into the room. "'Bout another week and it'll be finished, thank God."

"Ah, Tazuna-san, up already?" Kakashi said with a warm smile.

"What do you mean, 'up already'? I'm up before you all are."

Hinata chose to stare into her bowl of cereal, or rather, stare off into space in the direction of her cereal bowl. The common pleasantries of the early morning waking-routine were very redundant, and she found herself losing interest in the mission itself. The training was probably a factor in that, since it was possible she was simply too tired to care.

Before she knew it, the people that were around her had gotten up to get ready to go. Blinking back to reality, she shook herself back into focus and cleaned up her place before grabbing her gear and getting set to go.

"So where's Gin-sensei?" Sasuke asked at length, having noticed his second teacher was missing but hadn't desired to know the reason until now.

"Gin went ahead of us to scout the bridge. We'll meet him halfway there if everything's ok," Kakashi explained.

"What about him?" Sasuke asked, pointing to the slumbering blonde.

Kakashi looked over at Naruto before he shrugged. "He's been working hard lately, so we'll let him sleep in today. Odds are he won't be able to move for the next day anyway."

Hinata looked worriedly at her boyfriend, but shook it off. He'd recover, just like Kakashi-sensei said. Sasuke gave a "hmph" of acknowledgement and Kakashi started for the door. "Alright, mina, let's get moving."

Tazuna appeared as they were heading out the door, toolbox in hand and ready to go. "Oi oi, you all weren't gonna leave without me right?" Kakashi gave a pondering look as if he actually had considered it, to which Hinata giggled and Sasuke smirked.

The rest of the trip was lighthearted as they walked to beaten path to the bridge. About halfway there, like Kakashi said, they met Gin would was lazily perched atop a large boulder sunk hallway in the ground. "Oh, 'bout time yall showed up 'ere. Been watin' a good long time fer ya too."

"How're things at the bridge?" Kakashi asked, ignoring Gin's sarcastic complaints.

"Quiet as a mouse, 'cept for all that bangin' and stuff."

Kakashi gave a nod and they continued to move, Gin getting up and following. However, when they got the bridge things _we're _quiet as mice. Not a bird twirping, not a hammer clanging… not even the quiet murmur of workers on break.

Everything was silent as the grave. Kakashi gave Gin a glance as they overviewed the bridge. "I thought you said everything was fine."

Gin gave a concerned look as he stepped up next to him. "Was. When I's 'ere last 'nyway."

Kakashi stared hard at the foggy bridge. As they advanced, they found the near dead bodies of Tazuna's workers. "Wh-whats going on here?" Tazuna all but yelled as he bent down the check his friend.

He was barely conscious, but he managed to say one thing. "He… he was like a demon…!" Then he fainted, falling limp in Tazuna's arms.

"As I feared, Zabuza _is_ alive." Everyone turned to Kakashi as he spoke. "Stay on guard."

Even as he spoke, the fog became gradually more and more heavy, as if the mere condensation on their skin and clothes weighed them down. _'This mist…!'_

"Every get ready! They're here!" he shouted out. Everyone's backs stiffened as they tensed for battle.

From the shroud of airborne water, the Demon's voice echoed over the bridge. "Long time no see Kakashi. I see you're still with those brats of yours… How's the girl holding up?"

Hinata clenched her teeth and steeled herself for the coming fight. She knew she was still no match for Zabuza, but at least this time she wouldn't have it end so badly. She would fight to the end.

Even as her thought finished, they were surrounded by a dozen copies of Zabuza, each one poised to strike them.

Sasuke looked at each of them and could clearly tell they were water clones. He grinned to himself. _'He's underestimating us. He got me out of the fight early last time. It won't happen again.'_

Hinata looked at each of them in surprise. She hadn't expected so many clones, and right off the bat. She'd had trouble with just one of them before, but she'd grown since then. She heard Gin from behind her, and even without the Byakugan she knew he was looking forward to seeing how much she had grown, judging by the smile in his voice.

"Go 'head, Hinata."

Kakashi smirked. "You too Sasuke."

Both of them nodded and attacked, as did the clones. Hinata, with her Byakugan activated, decided to try out her new abilities and gathered her reiatsu around her. In a blur each one of the clones were attacked and destroyed, causing them to dispel in an instant. Sasuke gave a look of admiration to Hinata as they landed. _'I don't remember her being that fast. When did that happen?'_

Hinata felt a bead of sweat run down her cheek, but she felt nothing except excitement. Where she'd been beaten by a single water clone before, she was able to destroy half of a dozen of them in one go.

Even Zabuza took notice. "Heh… much better, kid."

Hinata beamed at her enemy, suddenly uplifted at having been praised by even an opponent. "I-I've changed… j-just a bit."

Zabuza scoffed at her as he rested his cleaver on his shoulder. His gaze rested on Sasuke, noting the hard look he was receiving. _'Those eyes…'_

"Looks like some rivals have finally appeared, eh Haku?" The masked figure next to him gave a short nod as he inspected his opponents.

"Indeed. If you don't mind Zabuza-san, I'll fight both of them." Zabuza gave a nod as Haku vanished from beside him.

Both genin's eyes widened as they barely saw him approach. Before Hinata could move to intercept him, Sasuke was already rushing forward to do so, kunai in each hand. They met with a clang, senbon pressed against kunai as they held each other off.

Hinata was honestly surprised. Sasuke was definitely fast; she'd barely seen him move until he stopped.

"Hinata, you guard Tazuna, I'll take this guy down on my own."

Hinata looked at her teammate with concern. "B-but, you can't be s-selfish Sasuke-san! I want to f-fight him t-too!"

Sasuke gave a small smirk and shook his head. "You kidding me? We all know you hate fighting Hinata. And besides, Naruto's not here to be impressed, so you don't need to push yourself or risk getting hurt. Just let me handle this guy on my own."

Kakashi looked as Sasuke and narrowed his gaze the two of his students. _'That's not necessarily true Sasuke. Hinata may hate fighting, but that doesn't mean she _shouldn't _fight.'_ He turned to his black haired Uchiha pupil with a look of authority. "That doesn't mean you can hog the limelight Sasuke. In fact, I'll throw your own words right back at you; 'Naruto's not here to be impressed,'" he finished with a small chuckle.

Sasuke gave a peeved look at his sensei before smirking his Uchiha-smirk. "Please sensei, like I need to impress that loser." There was a playful glint in his eyes as he never turned from his deadlocked opponent.

Haku broke their banter as he directed his attention to Sasuke. "You won't back down will you? I don't want to fight if I don't have to."

Sasuke gave a determined look to him. "Don't be silly."

"Of course not… It looks like I don't have a choice. However, I now have two distinct advantages."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "Two?"

"That's right. First of all we're surrounded by water. And secondly, I have one of your hands occupied."

To Sasuke's, and even Kakashi's disbelief, Haku shifted through a series of complex, _one-handed_ seals.

"What-?"

"**Hijutsu: Sensatsu Suishō!**" Instantly, Sasuke was surrounded by an innumerable amount of thin, needle-shaped icicles. "There's no place to run."

Sasuke's eyes widened as the needles closed in.

* * *

Tsunami hit the ground with a thud, the table falling over onto its side, cut in half in the middle. "Look, don't make this harder than it already is," Zōri said as he approached the woman.

Waraji, his partner, stalked forward hand on his sword's hilt, as always. "Speak for yourself, I wanna cut something!"

Zōri looked at his partner negatively. "You just cut up a bunch of stuff on the way here! Besides, we need her alive."

"Mom!"

They all three turned to see Inari scream at his mom. Tsunami felt her face go white in fear. "Inari run! Get out of here!"

"Should we take him too?" Waraji asked his companion.

"We only need one hostage," Zōri said matter-of-factly.

Waraji looked, for his own part, quite happy to have heard that, and drew his sword out halfway. "Hehehe, should I kill him then?"

Tsunami panicked and yelled out to their backs desperately. "WAIT!"

They both turned to regard her.

"If you touch that child, I'll bite my tongue and kill myself! You need a hostage right?" She knew what fate she resigning herself to, but it didn't matter. Her son took priority, and as a mother she would be proud to die for her child.

Zōri smirked and nodded to Inari. "Heh, thank your mom kid."

Waraji looked put out. "Damn, I wanted to cut something."

Zōri gave Waraji an exasperated glance. "Give it a rest already, now hurry and tie her up. We need to get moving."

Zori watched as Waraji tied the woman up, though leaving her legs free since neither one wanted to carry her. When that was done, they picked her up and roughly shoved her to the doorway. Before they stepped outside, they heard a long drawn out yawn from somewhere nearby. They looked in the sound's direction and saw a blonde haired kid, rub one of his eyes naïvely.

"Oh great, _another_ kid," Waraji complained. Zōri rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Just kill him."

Waraji nodded with a grin and stalked toward the boy. But when the boy opened his eyes, they weren't scared, or worried. They were cold and prepared.

"And what exactly were you two planning on doing with that woman?" he mumbled out, as if he were still half asleep.

"Naruto!" Tsunami yelled in both hope and fear.

Waraji smirked. "Ya don't need to know. You're gonna die here!" He drew his sword slowly, letting Naruto see its blade.

Naruto looked at it and felt his eyes twitch to the top of his head. "Tch… what an ugly sword."

Waraji felt his smirk slip at the boy's comment. Naruto kicked the covers off of him, revealing he was fully dressed, save his shoes. From beneath his covers he gripped the sheath of his wakizashi, loosely.

"I hope Shinsō doesn't get mad at me later…" he said as he drew his much smaller blade. "…for having her touch disgusting weapons like those."

Waraji's eye twitched as he growled and swung the blade fully out of its sheath and swung at the boy. Naruto deftly knocked the up and away, with such a face as to say "I'm bored."

Waraji was about to bring his blade back down, when Naruto made two quick slashes, creating a deep X into the man's chest. The thug's eyes widened as he saw blood spurt from his fresh wound. Even so, his newfound rage pushed him forward again. With a roar he swung down again, only for the blonde to sidestep carelessly and dodge as his sword buried into the wooden floor.

"Oh look, an opening."

Waraji felt his eyes expand as the boy gave him a deep slash through his left side, moving on as if wasn't a threat anymore.

Blood shot from his mouth in a cough, as he turned to attack again, only for the boy to casually reverse stab him in the lung at such an angle as to hit his heart. He stood for only a few seconds before he fell to the floor lifeless.

When Naruto looked back to the door, Zōri and Tsunami were gone.

He sighed and walked outside to see the other man prodding Tsunami along at a fast pace. With a flash of speed, he appeared in front of them.

"You can't outrun me, especially not with an unwilling hostage."

"Naruto!" Tsunami cried out as Zōri put his blade to her throat. "Be quiet! Hostages don't talk!" She let out a whimper as she quieted herself.

Naruto lifted his blade and pointed it at the thug. "No, but people do. And so can swords. In fact, people and swords can speak to each other. You wanna know what mine wants to say to you?" He asked as he leveled the blade carefully at the man. He gave a hard look to Tsunami that she clearly took as "don't move."

Zōri gave the kid a look as if he were crazy. "What the hell're you talking about…?"

Naruto smirked.

"**Ikorose, Shinsō.**"

Zōri made to say something again, but was silenced as the boy's blade slashed right through the side of his neck. The boy hadn't even moved. Instead, the blade had shot forward and pierced the right side of his throat, severing his jugular vein in the process.

"'Die,' she says," Naruto said with finality as the man felt his grip on the woman in front of him slip and he fell backwards into the water, his leaking blood darkening it with its crimson color.

Tsunami felt his hands fall from her sides and the blade fall from her throat. She stood there for several seconds, frozen in fear as Naruto's extended blade hung not an inch from her own neck. But as she saw it retract back to its original form, she felt all energy in her legs vanish and she collapsed to the ground, almost falling in after her assailant.

Naruto's eyes widened and he moved to catch her. "O-oi! What's wrong? You hurt?" He picked her up and pulled her away from the edge of the dock and set her down carefully.

After a few minutes, she felt her energy return and she nodded. "Yes, yes I'm fine… Is Inari safe?"

Naruto gave a relieved nod, to which she sighed out her worries. "Thank Kami…!"

Naruto lifted her up and helped her back to the house and sat her down. At seeing his mother safely back Inari ran out and cried deeply as he hugged her. Naruto watched them for a few seconds before placing a hand on the woman's shoulder.

"Tsunami-san, I have to go help my team. If they sent men here to capture you, then no doubt they're also at the bridge."

Tsunami nodded and watched as he strapped Shinsō's sheath to his pants and grab his head band from beneath his pillow and hang it around his neck. "I'll be back as soon as possible."

Inari watched as Naruto made for the door. "W-wait! You can't fight Gatou or his men! You'll just die!"

Naruto turned and gave Inari a long stare. "Then I'll come back to life and kill him as a ghost."

Inari looked almost angry. "That's just an empty excuse to fight him! The fact is your gonna die!"

Naruto stepped over and looked down at the young boy. "The second you stop fighting to live, you rot away. I don't know about you, but this village of yours has rotted for far too long. I'll kill Gatou, and anyone who tries to help him. And if I die, then I died clearing the way for the person behind me."

He gave a small smile to him and patted his head. "Don't bear the burden yourself. You'll just sink doing that."

And without a word more, he turned and rushed out the broken front door.

* * *

Sasuke panted as he struggled to stand. "D-damn it! He's too fast..!"

Hinata likewise found it hard to stay oriented, as numerous senbon stuck out of her arms and legs. Both her and Sasuke were caught in that hunter-nin's prison-like ice dome. Even with her Byakugan, she couldn't keep up with their opponent's movements. She could tell which mirror he was in, but that didn't help when he switched mirrors instantly between attacks. Sasuke was likewise perforated with needles, and likewise wasn't seriously injured.

She pulled out a particularly painful senbon from her arm and threw it away. _'This is no good. Even if I can find out where he really is, we can't break the mirrors. Sasuke can't melt them with fire, and he won't let me get close enough to hit them with my Jyuuken.'_

Her deep breaths were echoed by Sasuke who was, for some odd reason, unrelenting in his attacks.

"Hinata, can we do that one more time?" he asked quietly, but with a strange glint in his eyes.

Hinata looked at him curiously, but nodded. "Yeah, probably."

"Good. On my mark."

She waited for him to move and when he did, he rushed to one side of the cage while she ran in the opposite. As soon as he knew the man would attack, Sasuke stopped and turned around to defend himself, his eyes rushing to follow his form as he zipped from mirror to mirror.

Hinata likewise turned to defend herself, knowing he was coming straight at her. Though she wasn't as strong or smart as Sasuke, the mist-nin knew her Jyuuken could screw up his jutsu if left unattended. She braced herself and immediately screamed in pain as she felt her thighs peppered with painful needles. Before she even fell to the ground, Sasuke was also assaulted and sent crashing into one of the mirriors.

"Resistance is futile. Pleas surrender or I _will_ be forced to kill you."

Sasuke grunted as he raised his head. "Go ahead, kill us. You're a shinobi right? And we're your enemy." He spoke between breaths as he finally got back to his feet, even as Hinata began pulling the numerous senbon from her legs.

"I'd rather not kill you, but if you persist, I will crush my heart and kill you, for the sake of Zabuza-san's dream." He raised a handful of projectiles dangerously.

Sasuke hobbled over to the center of their "arena" as Hinata crawled to her feet, reaching the same destination. "Hinata, one more time."

Hinata shook her head. "I… *huff* I don't know… *huff* if I can do that… *huff* again…"

Sasuke's eyes narrowed at their opponent viciously. "Just one more time Hinata, just one more time…" His teeth clenched hard enough to nearly crack. "…And I can beat him!"

Hianta watched as Sasuke practically shook with excitement. Slowly, she nodded to him and braced herself for what was to come. This time Sasuke ran forward while Hinata turned and ran the other way.

Haku almost shook his head as he attacked. But this time, something was different. He went to attack Sasuke, since he was now faster, thanks to his earlier attack on the girl's legs, but this time Sasuke stopped on a dime and leapt backwards, almost parallel to the ground, dodging his incoming fistful of needles. Haku's eyes widened beneath his mask as Sasuke smirked upwards as Haku's form.

He sunk into a mirror and bounced back out, intending to get him on the return trip. But this time, Sasuke twisted out of the way by pounding the ground with his fist hard enough to knock himself out of the way. Haku whiffed him and continued on to the girl who was just turning to face him. As he passed by, he sank a needle deep into her back, but still in a non-lethal spot.

He landed in a mirror, safe from harm, but what shocked him more than anything was the kunai that hit the mirror only a half a second after he did. He looked over to Sasuke's outstretched arm. _'Impossible! He saw my trajectory? No… it must have been just a wild throw; no one can follow my movements while this jutsu is active.'_

Hinata bit back another scream as she landed on her hands and knees, breathing laboriously. Sasuke, seeing this, quickly ran over and helped her back to the center. "Hinata…"

The Hyuuga shook her head at his implied question. "I… I can't do it Sasuke… I can't do it…" Sasuke narrowed his eyes and looked her over. Seeing the protruding object, he carefully yanked the needle free from her back and twirled it in his fingers.

"That's fine… I don't need you anymore."

Hinata looked up at his face in shock. "W-what…?"

Then she saw it. The obsidian swirls surrounded by a crimson sea. Those onyx eyes of his were different. His eyes were narrowed in amusement. "I can see it."

His grin turned excited and he readied himself. "I can see it!"

Hinata looked at her teammate in total astonishment. "S-Sasuke! You're eyes…!"

"Ah… So this is the Sharingan…" He looked down at his hands and smiled. "I like it!" His reddened eyes swirled in an endless circle as he looked around him. "C'mon then, let's do this again!" He dashed forward and as expected the hunter-nin dashed out to meet him.

Sasuke stopped again, and to Haku's shock, threw the senbon directly at his masked face. _'He read my movements?' _he quickly spun out of the way, but still managed to slash the boy's shin. He passed by the boy to another mirror, but he felt a sharp pain in his own shin. He looked down to see another senbon embedded in it. His eyes widened in disbelief as Sasuke stood from where he'd fallen in pain.

"What's wrong? Your movements seem to have become duller. To me…" he looked up, his crimson eyes ignited with power. "…it seems as if you're moving in slow motion."

Haku flinched at his mocking words. That was the same line Haku had used to describe his jutsu to them.

"Those eyes…! Sharingan?" He paused to let the new information settle into his brain. "I see… so you are also from an advanced bloodline, like your teammate."

Sasuke smirked. "Scared? You have both of Konoha's most powerful eyes looking right at you."

Though the ninja couldn't see it, Hinata was staying on the ground for two reasons. One, she needed to catch her breath which was difficult to do anyway with the needles ticking out of her chest, and two, her left hand was pointed in the general direction she knew Haku was in, and Sasuke understood it. _'As long as Hinata can see where he's coming from, I can see it clear as day!'_

Haku pulled out eight senbon and lined them up between his fingers. _'It's true; with the girl's eyes she can see my starting position, and with his, he can easily deflect my attacks. My only advantage is to make him come to me.'_

His eyes fell on the girl. _'Forgive me, but I'm afraid I'll need to use you.'_ In an instant, he slipped out of his mirror, barreling straight for the immobile girl.

Sasuke's eyes widened as he saw what their opponent was aiming for. _'Shit! He's going for Hinata?'_

The next few seconds happened in slow motion, to both Sasuke and Haku. Haku's speed made Sasuke slower, and his Sharingan slowed down Haku's movements enough to see. Haku could move, but Sasuke would see. Sasuke could move, but Haku could respond. In the end, it would all come down to the Sharingan predicting his movements. Haku had to make sure he nailed this attack.

Sasuke leapt into the air, tackling the airborne missing-nin out of the way of Hinata, but Haku had accomplished what he'd set out to do.

Sasuke coughed out a puddle of blood as he reeled from the attack. He could feel the senbon enter his body the instant they touched his skin, their cold metal forms pressing deep into him. Though he didn't feel it, they went clean through.

Using his immense speed, Haku kicked off of Sasuke and into another mirror, bouncing around until he was behind them and dove out once more to finish off the girl.

Sasuke, seeing it, whirled, kunai in hand. "You-…!" But his injured form could no longer keep up with Haku's speed, and his kunai flew too late. The hunter was already finished with his attack, and he fled to another mirror, leaving both of them to fall to the ground, as Hinata never even had the chance to get to her feet. She too collapsed, a small, final puff of air escaping her mouth silently, her eyes gazing blankly at nothing; she didn't even have the energy to close them before she lost consciousness.

Sasuke felt himself slip away into unconsciousness. _'Shit! I should have known he'd try and target Hinata. He knew I'd protect her! Damn it!'_ He gazed up into the mirror at the top of the dome that had a reflection of Haku in it, his Sharingan eyes ablaze with fury.

Haku watched as the Uchiha's eyes closed and sighed in relief. _'Those two were definitely tough. I've faced few who were as strong as them. It was a dirty trick, but it was required.'_ He was about to let the mirrors around him shatter back into water, when he felt something immense coming.

_'This ominous feeling…!' _He looked in the direction Zabuza was fighting with Kakashi and Gin. "Is it them…?" He closed his eyes, trying to detect this new presence's direction. _'No, it's not them. It's coming from… behind?'_

His eyes widened and he turned and slipped out of the mirror, outside the dome. The presence was closing in fast, but he couldn't see who it was in the mist.

Soon though, a silhouette could be seen approaching. His eyes squinted as tried to distinguish who it was. Then, as soon as his blond hair came into view, Haku immediately recognized him as the boy from before. The same boy he'd talked to out in the forest.

As soon as he saw him, he knew the boy could see him too. He stopped just short of twenty feet from him. "So you're the hunter-nin Kakashi-sensei told us about. You don't look like a cold-hearted killer."

Haku nodded and drew a senbon from his sleeve. "Appearances can be deceiving."

Naruto let out a small laugh and nodded as well. "Yeah, I know that very well." His thumb fiddled with the hilt of his sword as he prepared to fight.

"So, mind telling me where my teammates are? I can tell Kakashi-sensei and Gin-sensei are fighting beyond in the mist, but I can't sense my friends."

Haku narrowed his eyes and braced himself. "They're nearby actually. Closer than you think."

Naruto blinked in confusion, then he saw two shadowed forms inside the dome of icy mirrors. Haku braced himself as a gust of wind blew by as Naruto's completely vanished from his sight. He gasped as he turned and saw the boy standing above the immobile forms of his two teammates.

Closing his eyes, Naruto felt for their spiritual forces. He let out a sigh of relief as they both were still alive. Dimly there; so dim that he wouldn't have been able to sense them if he weren't standing next to them, but there nonetheless. They definitely _looked_ dead, with their closed or half-lidded eyes and blood dripping from their mouths. They were badly injured, but they were alive. For a second there, he'd truly thought they _were_ dead, but reiatsu didn't lie to him.

However, the anger in him from seeing them be hurt was still clearly evident and unavoidably present.

"It's a good thing they're alive…" he began calmly, his eyes shadowed by his hair as Haku stepped back into the dome of mirrors, preparing to fight one last time before going to help Zabuza. "If they really were dead," Naruto continued. "I'd have ended your life instantly." His cerulean eyes swam with unreleased rage.

Haku knew he was suppressing his anger. But what was more surprising was the fact he could tell they were alive. Even to Haku, a ninja with hunter-nin skills, they looked dead. Even though he knew they weren't, he couldn't find anything about them that would reveal their life.

"What makes you so sure they're alive?" Haku asked simply. "Or that you can beat me, for that matter?"

Naruto smirked and lifted Shinsō from her sheath with his thumb. "Oh trust me, I can tell." Reiatsu exploded around him, his body literally shrouded in a thin layer of pure energy. Its golden sunlight-colored aura glowed in his eyes as he withdrew Shinsō completely.

Haku shielded himself as the energy tore into his mirrors, small hairline cracks starting to appear in their solid reflective faces. _'What power! He's completely different than he was in the previous fight.'_ He looked into Naruto's eyes as his hand dropped to his side.

_'Those eyes…'_ The boy glared darkly at Haku. _'…those eyes are dangerous!'_

"I will beat you," Naruto stated factually.

Haku readied himself. "Even if you defeat me, you cannot defeat Zabuza-san."

Naruto smirked. "That ain't the idea," he said as he lifted his blade out to the side. "I have no intention of fighting him."

With all the words being said that needed saying, Naruto flashed forward, slashing at the closest mirror. "URAAGH!"

Haku attacked.

* * *

"Hehe, it's too bad your two brats got caught up in that jutsu. Haku'll have no trouble taking the likes of them down."

Kakashi gripped his side from where he'd been cut, but smirked anyway. "Oh I wouldn't be too sure about that. Hinata's the heiress of the Hyuuga clan, and Sasuke… heh…" he let out a short laugh as he looked at Zabuza. "Sasuke is the one of the last Uchiha, with the blood of the Sharingan flowing through his veins."

Zabuza felt his smile darken. "An offspring of that tragic clan…"

Before he could say anything else, everyone froze as the battlefield was saturated with a heavy veil of pressure. Kakashi gasped in shock as he felt it. It was like nothing he'd ever experienced before. It wasn't killing intent, and it wasn't exactly residual chakra.

"Wha-… What's…?"

Gin felt his eyes widen as he felt the reiatsu circle around them. "So, he's fin'lly done it…" He smiled victoriously as he stepped forward. "He's here."

Zabuza and Kakashi looked to the smug-faced Gin.

"Who?" Zabuza asked, curious as to who could be putting off this kind of energy.

"Konoha's numb'r one fast'st shinobi. Uzumaki Naruto."

Zabuza raised an eyebrow, as did Kakashi. "Fast? That kid was slow as shit last time we fought."

Kakashi likewise looked at Gin skeptically. "What do you mean by that? Naruto's not any faster than Sasuke."

Gin gave a chuckle. "Well, yall're gonna find out soon 'nough," he said as he raised Shinsō up and pointed it at Zabuza. He dashed forward, faster than most eyes could see, and bore down on the man. The ex-mist ninja quickly raised his blade to defend himself.

Gin was pushing much harder now than he had before, and evidenced by the slight nicking in the large blade's edge. After many minutes of rough slashing, Zabuza finally knocked the other man away and took his time breathing deeply. Gin had a small bead of sweat going down the side of his face, but his breath was the same s it had always been.

"Ichimaru Gin, there's something I've been wanting to ask you," he said at last.

Gin gave the man a curious look and shrugged. "Shoot, 'm all ears."

Zabuza lowered his blade and looked at Gin's small wakizashi. "That sword… in out last fight it had some sort of ability right? To extend?"

"Hohh… ya noticed't was my sword's ability, did ya?" Gin asked with growing interest.

Kakashi looked at both of them in surprise. He'd assumed it an ability of Gin's, rather than the sword itself.

"Yeah. Outside the Seven Swordsmen, I've never seen a sword with its own ability." Zabuza said, very curious about Gin's sword. He really never _had_ seen an ability like that before.

Gin smiled. "This 'ere is my Zanpakutō. Lotsa people have 'em where I'm from."

Zabuza blinked in surprise. "That so? Interesting."

He fell silent for a few seconds before Gin looked at Zabuza with interest. He let the silence drag on for a little more before he broke it. "That sword o' yers there…" he began as he pointed to Zabuza's zanbato. "…is prob'bly a Zanpakutō too."

Zabuza's eyes narrowed carefully. "What's that mean?"

Gin exhaled deeply. "Fuuuu… Not quite sure m'self," he admitted after a second.

Zabuza growled in his throat. "Enough o' the idle talk then, let's end this."

There was a blast of air from the other side of the bridge that wafted over them, sending their clothes whipping in its wake. "What the…?"

Zabuzu turned to see through the now-absent mist, to find Haku having a hard time with that blonde kid. The mirror dome that Haku had created earlier had shattered to the ground, with the remnants staying solidly frozen, a testament to the power of Haku's technique.

Gin wasn't lying, Naruto was _fast._

Kakashi's eyes widened. "That's… Naruto…?"

Naruto was a speeding blur, keeping up with all of Haku's movements as his blade slashed against senbon. Naruto flashed away when he saw Zabuza, only to reappear several meters back, carefully observing the man.

Gin rushed forward again to engage Zabuza. "Like ya said, let's end it."

Zabuza smirked and retaliated, sending a flurry of back-breaking strikes to the silver-haired man who either deflected or dodged them. "Whatever your sword is, you can't use its ability if we're this close can you?"

Gin knew he was right. Shinsō was a long range weapon primarily. If he missed with his Shikai, he could only get one good slash in before he had to retract it. He'd learned to begin retracting it during the single swing he was afforded and that saved him time, but it was still risky business. He could only effectively use Shinsō's abilities while in Bankai, but that wasn't warranted for this fight.

Zabuza dragged his blade through the ground and uppercut Gin, throwing him off balance. He was about to follow through when he found Kakashi's fist in his face. He flew back several feet before stopping.

"You didn't forget about me did you?" Kakashi asked tauntingly. Zabuza growled at him, but suddenly blanched when he saw Gin line up his blade with his body. "**Ikorose, Shinsō.**"

"Shit!" Zabuza swore as the blade fired at him, narrowly missing by less than an inch. He smirked as the sword passed him by, but his smile faded when he felt the hairs of his neck stand on end. He turned his head just enough to look behind him when he saw the tip of the blade race toward Haku's unknowing back.

"Haku, dodge it!"

Haku turned just in time to sidestep the blade, though it tore a bit of his shirt as it passed by. Zabuza let out a breath he didn't even realize he was holding and turned back to his opponents. "Damn that was close…"

"Zabuza-san!"

His eyes widened as he spun again only this time to find blood splattered across his face. Looking down, he saw Haku, standing strongly in front of him, a second elongated blade piercing through his chest, only inches from Zabuza's gut. Zabuza traced the blade back to Naruto who stood very still, almost frightened of what he'd just done.

Haku held the blade back with both hands tightly, making sure it wouldn't pierce his master too. He coughed and his mask slipped from his face.

"Haku…!" Zabuza stared in disbelief.

But despite his injuries, Haku looked up at his master and smiled. "Zabuza-san… Forgive me. I've failed you..." He smiled; a true, sad smile as a tear fell from his eyes. Blood dripped from his fingers, both from his own wound and from his freshly cut fingers.

Zabuza couldn't believe it, the very boy he'd believed to be stronger than him… His eyes creased in fury. His gaze fell on the blonde boy in the distance. _'I'll pay you back, Haku!'_

Gripping his Kubikiribōchō tightly, he ran so fast that Naruto literally lost sight of him. When his eyes at last focused on his form, he was standing above him, zanbato held in both hands and raised above his head. "You're dead!"

He swung down to bisect him when a silver flicker of light danced across his vision and blood erupted from his chest.

With wide eyes, he looked down to see a gloved hand, wreathed in lightning, protruding from his chest. He looked behind him to see Kakashi, eyes narrowed dangerously, but also revealing some small amount of regret and pain.

"K-Kakashi… omae-wa…!"

Kakashi closed his eyes mournfully and pulled his arm from his chest. Zabuza grunted and stumbled forward a little. His sword was buried in the cement, having missed the boy. He looked up as he leaned against it heavily for support.

Gin was a dozen feet away, carefully holding Naruto away from the deadly instrument.

"God damn it…!" Zabuza spat out vehemently. "It went straight to my head…!" he cried as he closed his eyes, trying to suppress his emotions.

Gin stood straight allowing Naruto to do the same. The boy walked over and picked up his Zanpakutō from where he'd been forced to let it go when Gin knocked him out of the way.

"Haku…! Haku was invincible… I never thought he'd die like this…!"

Naruto suddenly looked extremely guilty as he looked further beyond the man to see Haku lying on the ground. His eyes widened as he saw the face of that bishounen boy from the forest. In an instant the dots were connected and Naruto felt a small lump form in his throat.

Kakashi looked at Zabuza, almost feeling sorry for him. "Zabuza… you…"

Small droplets of water hit the ground with little "plips."

"…You really did care for Haku, more than just a soldier…"

Zabuza felt his sadness and regret fully take him as he unwillingly let out a sniffle or too, even as his mask began to soak up his tears.

"My my, how _touching_…"

Everyone turned to see a short, brown haired man in the distance wearing a suit and a pair of round sunglasses. Kakashi instantly recognized him as Gatou.

"…And by touching I mean utterly _disgusting_. I thought you shinobi had standards!"

Zabuza, with great effort turned his head to see Gatou standing there and felt rage boil within him. "Gatou…! You son of bitch…! I didn't think… you'd betray me… so soon…!" His breath came between words as he felt his arms grow weaker and weaker.

Gatou snickered smugly. "I had to make sure I got to you before you got to me, so I came as quick as I could. Sorry I got here so late; it looks like you died to someone else," he said condescendingly with a shrug. "Still though, were two dead kids and half a jounin all you and that brat could manage to achieve? And you call yourselves mercenaries!"

Naruto decided now wasn't the best time to mention that neither Sasuke nor Hinata we're actually dead. Still though, he couldn't help but feel empathy for Zabuza, who'd placed so much faith in Haku, only for Naruto to crush that faith in his vengeful attack. He felt somewhat responsible.

Kakashi felt his eyes go wide. "What? Sasuke and Hinata we're-…?" he asked as his eyes now gazed over through the thinning mist to see the two bodies of his students on the ground, nearly hidden between the legs of the men behind Gatou.

"Oh well, that's why I brought back up. Right guys?"

The small man was reinforced by the mob of hired men behind him, each one raising their weapon into the air and shouting.

Kakashi grieved quietly for the loss of his two students, and his eyes narrowed dangerously on Gatou and the group of fifty or so thugs behind him. _'Damn it! This is my fault! I decided to continue with the mission! God damn it all! How could this have…?'_ He felt his teeth clench so hard something cracked. His Sharingan spun violently in his left eye.

Even with Gin and Naruto still fully (or close to) functional, things weren't exactly looking up for them. Gin could probably take ten of them, and Naruto probably five. For himself, he assumed he could manage maybe three at a time in his current state. Kakashi felt his limbs tense up in worry. He had no idea how they were going to get out of this one. Even so, his fists clenched, ready to deal out whatever vengeance he could muster.

Naruto stepped forward in front of them all, surprising all three jounin with his courage… or stupidity.

"Zabuza-san, since I'm the one who killed Haku, I'll fight them all in his stead. I never really wanted to kill you; even when I heard and saw how you hurt Hinata, I only felt angry. I wanted to pay you back, but I never wanted to kill you. The same goes for Haku. He saved both Hinata _and_ Sasuke, and I could never hurt someone who saves my friends." He turned back to the mass of men and weapons in front of him, all laughing at him and asking how he was planning on fighting them.

Zabuza felt his gaze expand as he watched the blonde kid. He was silent before he understood what that meant. "So that's it… Haku… he never could do it easily." He felt a smile crawl across his face as he imagined Haku's feelings as he put both genin into a temporary death-state.

But in that same instant he felt something else; a stirring in his soul; a sudden desire to avenge his partner; to take revenge on the man who treacherously placed both of them in their current position. Feeling the last of his life ebb away, he heaved his sword from the ground and dragged it beside him as he painfully walked in front of Naruto.

"Thanks kid… but… Let me do this…"

Naruto looked at Zabuza incredulously. "B-but you're-!"

"-Not dead yet!" Zabuza interjected loudly, though it hurt to do so. He looked up ferociously at Gatou. "Let me do… one last good deed… For Haku's sake…" He growled low in his throat as he tore the bandages from his face.

"Hey kid… do me a favor… Let me borrow that… wakizashi of yours…"

Naruto looked as if he was about to refuse immediately, but then his gaze softened. After several seconds of troubled concern, he handed the man Shinsō. "Thanks… It's only fair… I give your sword… a cut of the action…!" Placing Shinsō in his mouth, he clenched his teeth around the handle and gathered what little chakra he had left into his body.

"Ha! What's half-dead shinobi gonna do, huh?" one thug shouted as Zabuza stood ready. Naruto could have heard a prideful "tch" emanate from the ex-kiri nin's throat.

Zabuza felt his determination grow as his chakra did the same. He groaned as he built up more and more of his energy until he couldn't contain any more, and then forced his body to gather more.

Kakashi watched in awe the man's chakra began exuding from his body like steam, rising above him like an ominous cloud of power. To his dread, the cloud looked far too alive for his own sanity; the demonic face formed thereon scaring him enough not to move. Gin likewise watched on, unable to turn away. _'So th's' a true shinobi, huh?'_

At last Zabuza felt as if he were about to explode with power, and with a snarl, he felt chakra surge from his feet as he rocketed forward, bringing his Kubikiribōchō around to bisect the closest enemy who got in his way. "HHAAAGH!"

Blood spewed across the ground as Zabuza cut the first man in half with a single swing from only one hand. The next one to attack got the same treatment, but with a reverse swing. A third man was gutted, his hand immediately going to his open stomach before he was beheaded by a twist of Zabuza's neck. A fourth man stumbled backwards onto a fellow's sword, the first casualty of fear. Zabuza swung again, slicing a man in half down the middle. More blood hit the pavement followed by its progenitor's head. By now they were mobbing him; grouping up in hopes to kill him before he did them. But no matter what weapon entered his body, no matter what cut or slash opened along his flesh, no matter the pain and torment his bones screamed out to him, his body refused to give in, refused to let down. His eyes burned with unspeakable vengeance as he drove onward like a mad, blood-lusting monster.

Gin's eyes opened in disbelief as he swore he saw the blade flash with a dim crimson light. At first he passed it off as just light reflecting off the spewing blood, but then it happened again, and again, for longer periods of time. Rather than instants, it shone for seconds, and then it simply began to glimmer in its cerise color, sending shadowy flickers of death casting across the floor of the bridge. As he lifted the sword high into the air, Gin could hear the audible scream of the blade as it executed another man, cutting through him and the bridge itself.

_'Th' zanbato's… screamin'…!'_ Gin realized as he watched in rapt incredulity.

It was a common occurrence, for swords to literally voice their consent of a wielder or an action by letting out a sound of approval. However, it was only something Zanpakutō, who were living, thinking things could do.

_'So… it's more like, Kubikiribōchō's screamin'!'_

He watched on, the intense wailing sound, like the sound of a repenting victim before their death, emanated forth from the weapon as it was bathed in the blood of its sufferers.

Gin knew the connection at last. Kubikiribōchō was a Zanpakutō. And it was Zabuza's. The living blade, in its master's final moments, was lending its support to him. Zabuza glowed an unearthly red as he also wreathed himself in blood, tearing the mass of flesh and bones asunder. Zabuza's teeth dug into Shinsō as he used it to stab and behead anyone stupid enough to get in his way on his bloody, carnage filled path to Gatou.

When at last the path between the two of them was clear, the shrinking old man was backed up against the unfinished edge of the bridge. Whatever words he was trying to say died in his throat, and all he could do is mouth whatever they were supposed to be. Zabuza ginned savagely as he stepped between the rivers of blood, his feet splashing red over his shoes and pants, blood dripping from every crease of Kubikiribōchō.

He got to Gatou and raised his Zanpakutō up high. He left it there for some time, letting the flowing blood drip to the ground and slide down his arm. Shinsō fell from his mouth and into his open left hand. His shark-like teeth soaked in blood as he smiled victoriously at Gatou.

Fixing his grip in Kubikiribōchō, he grabbed it with both hands, letting Shinsō fall from his grip and plant itself in the ground. Gatou looked up in absolute terror as the blade of the massive weapon angled at him as if of its own accord. It was as if the blade was staring him down with ethereal eyes. Zabuza spoke at last, his voice no longer human.** "Gatou…" **

His eyes looked down at the pitiful existence known as Gatou. **"This is your EXECUTION."**

The blade came crashing down, cleaving not only Gatou but the bridge itself in half. From out of the explosion of debris and blood, a single pair of sunglasses flew from the rising dust, cracking in half as they hit the ground just a few feet from Kakashi.

As the dust fell back into the ocean, Gin watched as Zabuza stood there, Zanpakutō at his side, hole in his chest, adorned in blood, and found himself believing that, for a moment, Zabuza was somebody, and perhaps some_thing_ else entirely.

Nobody moved for the longest time, until Zabuza finally turned, picked up the smaller blade he'd dropped, and dragged Kubikiribōchō back through the carnage he'd wrought. At last, he stumbled forward onto his knees in front of Naruto, dropping his sword in the process. Naruto kneeled in front of him, steadying him.

Zabuza raised the smaller blade and handed it back to Naruto. "Sorry… I got it… a bit dirty…" he apologized halfheartedly.

Naruto felt nothing short of amazed, and even more, _inspired._ Even through the immense physical torment Zabuza must be in, he still managed to smile, _truly_ smile through it. Naruto felt that at that instant, he was staring into the eyes of a _true_ shinobi.

At last, he shook his head. "It's fine, but you…" Naruto looked to the gaping hole in the swordsman's chest.

Zabuza mirrored Naruto's earlier action and shook his head too. "Heh, it's just a- *cough!* a scratch…" The pained man let out a heavy breath as he stumbled back to his feet, leaving Kubikiribōchō where it fell.

Naruto made no move to stop him as he limped forward, refusing to fall until he reached his target. At last he came next to Haku's still form. He looked at the young boy for some time before his shaking knees gave out and he fell like a rag doll. But he never made a sound as he hit the concrete. Instead, he quietly rolled over to face his partner. His hand slowly crept up to the cold, but rosy cheek of the boy he could honestly say was more of a son to him than anyone.

"Sorry… Haku… I got you… killed…" Even though he no longer looked even human, with his torn clothes and flesh and crimson stained skin, one couldn't deny the sheer emotion that radiated from his face, here, in his final moments. "I guess… you're in a… a better place now… You don't have to fight… anymore… I bet you're happy 'bout that…"

Though he was oblivious to it, the conscious members of Team Seven were standing next to them, watching solemnly.

Naruto had never witnessed a sadder moment. No doubt all Zabuza had ever wanted was the freedom to make his own choices. And now the consequences of that desire had brought about this outcome.

"Sorry, Kakashi… You won…" Zabuza muttered somberly. But Naruto was surprised when he saw his sensei shake his head.

"No Zabuza. By all rights, you should have won. When you saw Haku die, you hesitated. That's the only reason I was able to stab you. And it proves that you really are human."

"Heh… I guess… even I had trouble… becoming a true shinobi…" He laughed mirthlessly, a cough emanating soon after. "Haku… I don't think… I'll be joining you… I can't enter… where you've gone…" His breathing slowed dangerously, and his chest no longer rose or fell with each labored breath. Tears began to seep from his eyes, washing away the spattered blood, like cleansing waters.

Naruto felt a lump get lodged in his throat as he watched them. It was more than depressing; it was a miserable feeling that lingered in the air. But Kakashi, in perhaps the kindest thing Naruto's ever heard him say, bowed his head at his former enemy.

"That's not true Zabuza. You can go to the same place." Zabuza's eyes squinted as sad smile crossed his face. "Go to him… Zabuza."

At last, the warrior's breathing ceased, and Naruto watched as his body glowed for only a few short seconds before all returned to normal. He looked around and noticed Kakashi hadn't reacted. It was probably something only he, a spiritually aware being could have seen.

A cold feeling crept over his arms, and he looked down to see small white snowflakes melting on his skin. Looking up, his eyes widened as a sparse, but pale snowfall fell from the sky. "…Snow?"

"Ah. It seems even the heavens are crying white tears…" Kakashi commented as he too looked to the sky. He cautiously stepped forward and placed a hand on Naruto's shoulders. "Naruto, I'm sorry about Sasuke and Hinata. I know how close you'd gotten to them."

Naruto turned and gave his sensei a questioning look. "What'ya mean sensei? They're not dead." He gave him a confidant grin, as if to reaffirm his statement.

"What?" Kakashi looked at him stupidly.

Naruto turned and ran to the gory mess that Zabuza had created and looked around the mangled bodies for his teammates, Kakashi and Gin following quickly.

Naruto's gaze swept over the inch puddle of blood that saturated the floor of that section of the bridge, using his detection abilities to locate his teammate and girlfriend. At last he stepped up to a pair of bodies and pushed them away, finding the immobile forms of his friends underneath.

Kakashi approached as Naruto kneeled down, mindless of the blood as it soaked the legs of his pants. Both of them looked worse for wear. Sasuke was riddled with senbon needles all over his body, as was Hinata. But Sasuke was worse; he had needles running all the way through his chest and neck, and his legs and arms had numerous weapons embedded in them too.

Hinata had more senbon in her back than in her chest, though she had some of those too, and her legs and arms were perforated with the thin projectiles as well. If she was placed into a temporary death state, as Naruto correctly suspected, then the senbon must have hit some pressure point through the back of her body rather than the front.

Both of them also had numerous scratches along their skin. The sleeves of Hinata's jacket could be pulled off with only the slightest of tugs, which Naruto found out as he grabbed her arm to help sit her up. Her pants were in only a slightly better shape. Thankfully everything above her knees was mostly intact, but it looked like the ends of her pants had been flayed terribly.

Sasuke also had his legs and ends of his shorts tattered considerably. Naruto carefully held Hinata's torso up as he lifted her carefully from the blood-pool she was soaking in and carried her, rather awkwardly due to the senbon still sticking out of her, over to the furthest edge of the blood, almost next to Zabuza and Haku's lifeless forms.

Kakashi did the same for Sasuke and Gin helped bring him over, both of them carefully making sure not to jostle him too much.

Naruto lay Hinata down on the cold, damp concrete and proceeded to carefully pull the senbon out of her back, even as Kakashi did the same for Sasuke, and Gin stood by to supervise Naruto and aid him in his work.

It was slow progress, but Naruto made sure not to injure her further by removing the weapons from her skin. If he wasn't careful, he could cause internal bleeding and muscle damage. Gin had to hold Hinata precariously since, no matter how you tried to put her down, she'd always have a needle senbon pushed further in.

At last Naruto managed to finish with her back and they were able to lay her down that way, making their work much faster as they could both help out. Gin worked on her thighs and arms and Naruto worked on her chest, getting all of the pointed objects out of her in only a few minutes. When they made sure every one of them was out of her, they gathered weapons up and put them in a pile. She had over thirty of them stuck in her as they counted them. Quite a lot for one person.

Kakashi likewise finished with Sasuke and he scooted the Uchiha closer to the other three, two of which scooted over to make room.

"So, Kakashi-sensei, when do you think they'll wake up?" Naruto asked, eyes intently watching Hinata. Even though he knew she'd be ok as her reiatsu was already rising, and he knew she was put into a momentary death state she was _meant_ to recover from, he didn't like her just lying like that; he didn't like how _dead_ she looked. Sasuke too for that matter.

Kakashi shrugged. "That depends. Since we've removed all the senbon putting them in this state, they shouldn't take too long to come back around."

Even as he spoke, a masculine grunt emanated from Sasuke's lips as his chest rose and he inhaled sharply.

"See?"

Sasuke groaned in pain, his eyes clenching shut because of it before opening slightly. Looking to his left, he saw Kakashi, and to his right he saw Naruto and Gin who were sitting next to a skyward facing Hinata.

"Sasuke! You're alright!" Naruto shouted happily as he moved over to his black haired friend with a relieved smile. Sasuke couldn't stop a smirk from creeping across his face as he saw his teammate. "Idiot… No way I could die yet…" Naruto accepted Sasuke's tough act and smiled even wider.

But his attention was directed to the person next to him as a more feminine groan reached his ears. Scooting back over to her side as her eyes fluttered open. "Ah, you're awake!" he said excitedly as he beamed at her.

She blinked, trying to remember why she was lying on the ground, and recalled only vaguely that she'd been hit hard in the back before everything went black. She focused back on the boy in front of her and realized, if he was here, then they must have beaten Zabuza and his friend. That, and the fact that her love was sitting right next to her, both concerned _and_ relived as he watched her recover.

"Naruto-kun…?" she asked weakly as her vocal cords felt shot. The boy nodded and placed a hand on her arm reassuringly, even as he smiled at her happily. She felt a smile emerge on her face as well as she watched him; Naruto always seemed to have that effect on her. "So, did we… win?"

She watched curiously as a shadow of something akin to regret passed over his face but was replaced by a strong, reassuring smile. "Yeah, we won."

She closed her eyes as a feeling of accomplishment washed over her. "Thank goodness…" she whispered out quietly as she rested her head on the hard ground.

"So, what happened exactly?" Sasuke asked from beside her to no one in particular. Kakashi and Gin exchanged a glance before looking back to him. "Well, it kind of complicated. We'll explain it when you guys can stand."

Sasuke rolled his eyes at them and pushed himself up so he was sitting upright. "Tch." With some effort, he managed to get to his feet, though shakily as he had to lean on his sensei's shoulder to steady himself.

"No need to push yourself Sasuke, it's not like we're in a rush."

Sasuke glared at Kakashi before his eyes glazed over in thought for a second before he turned back to his sensei. "Where's Tazuna?"

Kakashi gave an eye-smile and waved the question off simply. "Oh, I created a Kage-bunshin when no one was looking and had it look over him. Don't worry he's safe and secure."

"Gin-sensei… you're awfully quiet…" Hinata rasped as the man next to her.

Gin looked at her, slightly surprised. "Oh, me? I guess 'm just glad ta see yer both ok. Neither o' ya were in any _real_ dang'r anyway."

Both injured genin looked at him strangely so he explained. "That fella you were fightin' weren't the killin' type. So he j'st put ya both into a kinda temp'rary coma… sotra thing… Y'know."

Both of them looked down to examine their wounds. Neither was seriously injured past a number of small puncture holes that were already starting to stop bleeding.

"By the way Hinata, Sasuke, it's probably best if you take your shirts off and let your wounds be exposed to the air. You need to anyway since both of you are soaked in blood. Don't want to get any strange diseases or infections, do we?"

Sasuke growled but promptly, if painfully, removed his shirt and arm-sleeves, examining them for a few moments before rolling them up and wringing the blood out of them, gaining a disgusted groan from everyone else.

"That's _really_ messed up," the Uchiha commented as he shook his clothes, flinging little droplets of thick liquid elsewhere as he tried to get most of the fluid out of his clothes.

Kakashi turned to his other injured student and motioned for her to do the same. "You too Hinata."

Hinata blushed as she struggled to sit up in surprise, bringing her arms to her chest in subconscious defense. "B-b-but I-I can't d-do that!I-I-…"

Naruto blinked as he realized why she was nervous and as a solution came to mind. "Oh, here!" He unzipped his vest and slipped it off, holding it out to her like asking her to try on a piece of new clothing at a store. She looked at him and hesitated. After a few moments of internal delegation, she hesitantly brought her hands to her ruined jacket's zipper.

"P-please look a-away…" she pleaded as she began taking off the torn jacket. Kakashi looked away, as did Gin and Naruto bowed his head with his eyes closed as he held his vest out for her to grab. Sasuke sighed and cracked his neck painfully, but closed his eyes.

Making sure no one was looking, she quickly unzipped her jacket and slipped it off, feeling much lighter now that the weight of the blood-soaked coat fell from her. She looked down to herself and noticed her thread-mail shirt, which Sasuke didn't wear, was also soaked in blood. Considering whether or not to remove it as well, she finally decided she probably should and nervously slid her arms out of it and pulled it over her head, throwing it onto her jacket.

Clad in only her soaked bra (which thankfully she didn't need to remove right then since she didn't have any wounds on that part of her chest), she felt the chill air around her send tingles over her skin. Standing up, and once again making sure no one was watching her, she swiped some of the remaining blood from her skin, flicking it off and away.

That done, she reached down and accepted Naruto's outstretched vest and slipped it on zipping up and getting situated in it. "O-ok, y-you can o-open your e-eyes now."

They all opened at once, looking back at her. She shrunk slightly under their gazes, but felt somewhat excited by the way Naruto was looking at her exposed arms.

Since it was basically the same as a chunin vest, but with less breast-pockets, her arms were left bare to the world. Sadly though, Naruto's chest wasn't quite as… _expansive_ as hers, so her female anatomy was somewhat pushing against the clothing. It wasn't uncomfortable, though it might be if she moved around too much in it, like training or fighting, but it would be fine for now.

Even so, Naruto must have noticed this, since his eyes were glued to her bust and hairless arms. Gin waited for his son to say something, but when he didn't, he looked over and saw his gazing eyes. Giving him a slight nudge, Naruto blinked and regained his wits. "S-sugoi…" was he could say at last.

Hinata blushed nervously but smiled at him. "T-thank you…"

Sasuke shook his shirt, sending droplets of thick liquid flying from it, thankfully in a direction opposite to the others. "I'm pretty sure most of this blood isn't mine," he commented, though it was clearly a questioning observation.

Kakashi nodded. "Gatou interrupted our fight with Zabuza and betrayed him. In revenge, Zabuza killed Gatou and his men. Unfortunately they were all standing around you when he attacked, so…"

Sasuke examined his torso and found, to his expectations, a shoe-mark on his chest. His eyes comically narrowed in indignation. "Those bastards…!"

Kakashi smiled at his student and tried to calm him down. "Ma, ma, no point getting upset over it now; pretty much everyone's dead."

Naruto laughed at Sasuke's expense before turning back to Hinata and offering her a hand up. The graciously accepted it, and even after she was standing, didn't release his hand. Noticing this, Naruto gave a little chuckle and rubbed the back of his neck. She smiled at him and blushed, bringing her free hand up to her chest shyly out of habit.

"Well, ev'ry one's 'lright, so I guess we should tell Tazuna it's safe ta come out now," Gin said finally, mostly to Kakashi than to anyone else.

The one-eyed Cyclops waved of the remark casually. "Already done."

Gin gave a nod and walked back over to where the two deceased nuke-nin lay. Naruto followed, Hinata in subsequent tow. As the blonde approached, Gin could tell he wasn't happy. The frown on his face was the same kind he would use when he was truly upset, and while he rarely used it, Gin was still able to recognize it when he did.

"What's wrong, Naru-kun?" he asked quietly.

Naruto was silent for several seconds as he shook his head. "It's not right tou-san. They were only our enemies because of our assignments, and even then, we never really needed to fight since they were betrayed anyway. It's not… it's not fair!"

Gin frowned and nodded. "I know what'cha mean… but tha's jus' how things turned out; can't do nothin' 'bout it now…"

He could tell Naruto didn't want to accept that, and it made him sad to see his adopted child like this. Sighing, he extended his hand and placed it onto of Naruto's wild hair, rubbing his head affectionately.

But as he looked into his eyes, he noticed they were different. There was something in them that wasn't supposed to be there.

Surprise? No, not quite.

Contemplation… nope.

Actually it seemed as if he was searching through his memories for something… something important, by the way his face was tightened.

Hinata felt the grip on her hand increase and she worriedly placed her other arm on his shoulder. "Naruto-kun…?"

Then he blinked. Not a blink of recognition, but one of realization. In an instant he let go of Hinata's hand and reached back into his back pocket, his eyes darting to and fro, but not looking at anything in front of him. After a few seconds he pulled out a normal scroll that was tied up with three pieces of string and a subtly disguised paper bomb. Quickly opening it, he unfurled the whole thing, his eyes frantically looking through it.

Kakashi looked curiously at the boy, but was called away as Sasuke beckoned his sensei over.

Gin watched Naruto's strange expression with keen interest and waited for what he was going to do or say. Hinata, being beside him as he looked through foot after foot of ink-filled paper, leaned over to see what he was looking at. As soon as she did, her eyes almost literally fell out of their sockets.

It was jutsu. Jutsu after jutsu printed on the scroll's insides, and each one formidable and deadly. "N-Naruto-kun! This is-…!" she couldn't finish her concerned exclamation as she realized each and every one of them was labeled as either A or S-ranked techniques.

Finally he stopped and examined a particular technique intently. Hinata read along with him, though silently and felt her eyes widen even more, if that was possible. But just as she was about to say something, she saw Naruto's face. His concentrated scowl had changed into a determined half-grin.

"Tou-san," he said at last, his eyes burning with newfound justice. "I need your help with something."

Gin raised an eyebrow at his son before he asked what it was. Naruto smiled and handed the scroll he was holding to his father. Gin took it and looked at what Naruto had found. After a few seconds, even his eyes widened, opening in the process. "Naruto-…"

"Please tou-san? It's not fair that any of this happened. It's the only thing I can think of that could work!" Naruto pleaded with his father, looking up at him with expectant eyes.

Gin paused for a while and didn't say anything. But after a minute or two of internal consideration, he looked this way and that, making sure Kakashi was out of earshot before speaking. "A'right… I'll help. What do I need ta do?"

Naruto smiled widely and pointed to the jutsu's requirements. Gin read it and nodded his head at the words. It was simple enough, and not that risky for its effects.

"Ok, I'll get one of em, you an' Hina-chan get th' oth'r."

Naruto smiled, took the scroll from his father's extended hand and rolled it up quickly, stuffing it back into his pocket. "C'mon Hinata!" he said excitedly as he grabbed her hand and dragged her off.

She let out an "eep!" as she allowed him to pull her away. "B-b-but Naruto-kun, what are we l-looking for?" she asked, not quite sure what she was needed for. He dragged her back to the edge of the pool of blood, to which she cringed at the sight of. Not that she was afraid of blood, but she didn't feel comfortable bathing in it either, which she'd already done once today; she wasn't eager for another.

Naruto pointed to the strewn bodies. And, not even realizing it, wrapped an arm around her waist in unconscious support. He may not have immediately known why he did it, but his subconscious, knowing what he was asking her to do, made his arm move on its own. "Hinata, I need you to use your Byakugan and look for anyone still alive."

Hinata wasn't ignorant of this arm and true to her nature felt his confidence flow into her and bolster her own. Braving a smile, she nodded and pushed chakra to her eyes. In an instant her vision turned monochrome and she saw every small detail around her. Specifically she searched for one with a pulse.

It took a while, but she found one; a particularly disgusting looking brute who'd apparently only been shallowly slashed across the back by Zabuza's use of Shinsō. Naruto smiled broadly. "Way to go Hinata! I knew you could do it! Now we just need one more…"

He didn't need to finish his sentence as Gin walked toward them with another near-comatose victim of Zabuza's assault on his shoulder.

Naruto smiled and lifted the one Hinata had found and carried him, with her help, out of the bloody, organ strewn mess and back to the dry, untouched part of the bridge and tossed him to the ground. Gin likewise dropped his captive next to his fellow. Naruto pulled the scroll back out and studied it. After a few minutes of careful reading he nodded to himself.

"Ok, next we need…"

* * *

"Hinata! It's your turn next!" Tsunami called down the hallway suddenly.

Hinata jumped at the voice. "C-coming!"

She rolled up the scroll Naruto had given her and put it away. He'd made a quick copy of his own scroll for her and told her he wanted her to learn some of the one's she found interesting.

Apparently, the night Naruto had unwittingly stolen the Forbidden Scroll, he'd copied down nearly every jutsu in the scroll before he'd been interrupted by Hinata. He'd held onto the copy of his ever since, reading it every once in a while for entertainment.

After he'd used _that_ jutsu earlier that day, he'd decided he'd make another copy and give it to her for her own use.

She initially doubted she'd be able to find a use for any of the techniques in it, but as she read, she realized how diverse ninjutsu could be, and not all of them were high-risk; some were just in her realm of expertise. She'd have to find time to work on them between future missions, team outings, and shinobi and shinigami training.

She sighed exhaustedly. That sounded much easier than it would end up being. She was already worn out from chakra and reiryoku training, and her body was also tired from her earlier injuries.

Putting the scroll in her bag, she grabbed her second pair of clothes from her bag, rounded the corner and walked into the hallway. Tsunami was standing outside the door to the bathroom with a towel hanging on her arm.

The woman smiled at Hinata sweetly. "Sasuke said he'd be out in a minute," she said as she approached.

Hinata gave a nod and waited patiently until the door unlocked and Sasuke stepped out, one towel about his waste and another being rubbed through his black hair roughly. He paused his his rubbing as he observed the two women flanking the doorway.

Hinata was too surprised to blush. Had it been Naruto, she probably would have blushed profusely and turned away… or be too enraptured by his body to avert her gaze. But for Sasuke she simply stared at him in surprise. She hadn't expected him to come out in a towel.

"What?" he asked simply as if his predicament was a common occurrence, which unbeknownst to her, it was. It was why he no longer went to Konoha's hot-springs by the main roads.

Fan-girls: both a blessing… and a curse.

"Oh, Sasuke-san! You're chest!"

Sasuke looked down at his chest at the middle-aged woman's cry and noticed the nearly closed holes that had been created by the hunter-nin's senbon. He shrugged off her concern nonchalantly and walked over to the door of the designated dressing room where he'd left a change of clothes. "Don't worry about it, they'll heal up fine."

He closed the door behind him, still trying to rub the moisture from his hair.

Hinata shook her head to clear it of Sasuke's half naked image and looked back to Tsunami. The woman looked after the young Uchiha worriedly before turning back to her. "Well, anyway… I couldn't find enough towels for all of you to have your own so, you'll have to use these." She handed the young Heiress a damp towel regretfully. "They're as dry as I could get them, unless you want to wait until later to clean up."

Hinata considered it, but as she felt the drying, chafing blood on her body, she thought better of it. "N-no, it's fine. I-I don't mind."

Tsunami smiled at her and turned to leave. Hinata turned as well to enter the bathroom when a thought crossed her mind. "Ano… T-Tsunami-san?"

The woman turned back to the indigo haired girl. "Yes?"

A light pink stripe stretched across Hinata's cheeks as she held up the towel she was given. "W-w-who was the o-one w-who used this o-one?"

Tsunami looked to the ceiling and placed a hand to her chin. "Hmmm…I think it was… Naruto-san."

Hinata felt her face go completely red as she just stood there, too dumbfounded to move, her eyes perfect, round, lavender saucers. After a few silent moments, she stammered a thank-you and disappeared into the bathroom.

Tsunami blinked in surprise. _'That was weird… Oh wait, aren't they dating or something?'_ she realized as she understood the probable reason why Hinata acted like she had.

She laughed to herself quietly at her own mistake. _'Oh well, no harm done I guess.'_

* * *

Five minutes later, Sasuke emerged from the room fully clothed in an exact copy of his usual clothes, minus the arm-sleeves. He ran his hand through his hair, glad to have finally dried it. He never like having water-logged hair, and it was a pet-peeve that he always had to take care of, even when he was little. Of course back then, his mother, Mikoto, would do it for him.

He let out a quiet sigh as he thought back to those days.

But he was interrupted from his reminiscences to a strange sound. He looked around trying to locate where it was coming from. Being quiet, so as to not lose track of the sound, he turned his head this way and that trying to find its general direction.

At last he found his head pressed up against the bathroom door, his eyes furrowed in concentration and confusion. _'What's that sound? It's like… breathing? Yeah, and squeaking too…' _After a few seconds of listening to it, he heard was sounded suspiciously like a muffled moan. His eyes narrowed as he tried to make out what the sound was. _'Breathing, squeaking, muffled moaning… What could-'_

All of a sudden his eyes turned into white saucers as he realized just what _exactly _he was hearing.

_'WHAT THE F***?'_ He mentally exclaimed in disbelief. _'Th-that's Hinata in there…!'_

Slowly, he inched away from the door as quietly as he could. _'I _reeeaaly_ need to leave!'_ he realized in incredulity.

Not only was he interrupting some _very_ personal and private time, but he was interrupting _Hinata's_ very personal and private time, which unfortunately began painting pictures in his mind of what she was doing.

_'AH! NO! BAD THOUGHTS! BAD THOUGHTS!'_ He stumbled back and slinked away soundlessly, mentally scarred for life.

* * *

Hinata chewed contently on her fish, which were seasoned differently tonight with a special spice that Tazuna said he picked up in town.

After they had begun fighting, Tazuna was taken away by Kakashi's Kage-bunshin to a safer location. When the clone was telepathically informed of Zabuza's demise and Gatou's execution, Tazuna had ran into the town announcing it, an exasperated Kakashi-clone following.

Apparently he'd gotten the spice from a good friend as a gift. She had to admit, it was delicious. Even after they'd had fish three times a week for the last three weeks, she still enjoyed the new flavors they could introduce to the meat, and the different kinds of fishes they could catch to eat.

She wore a copy of her normal outfit, but instead of the jacket, she wore a short-sleeved lavender T-shirt and her normal smoke-black pants. Naruto sat next to her on her right, happily munching away on his food without a care in the world.

Though, it didn't escape his attention (at least, she hoped) that she'd scooted just a tad closer to him than she usually did.

She didn't mind being this close to him right now, even though they were in mixed company.

After her shower, she… well… she relieved a lot of tension that had been built up over the course of the mission.

Rarely did she ever do it, but the knowledge that she was drying herself with the same material that Naruto did caused her to lose control. She _had _to. What with that incredible make-out session they'd had the other day; she'd been left hot and bothered by it, though she didn't want to turn their confession of love into a source for perversion, so she resisted taking care of it, which she proudly managed to do.

But after her shower, those feelings returned with a vengeance. She couldn't help it.

But, needless to say, she was glad she'd done it. She felt so much more at ease now and even felt just a bit bolder for some reason. She didn't feel awkward like she thought she would, thought it did feel strange to be doing it in another person's house, or more specifically, in an unfamiliar place, the feeling only egged her on more once she got started.

Strangely, she felt _more_ comfortable by the end of it, to which she wasn't complaining.

No one said anything, so she doubted she'd been caught, and if she had, she'd rather not know about it. Ignorance is bliss after all, and she was _indeed_ in bliss. Stress relieved, she felt as if a ten ton weight had been dropped from her shoulders. Her whole body felt lighter and more energetic.

_'Now I won't have to worry about it again for a while,'_ she thought contentedly. She didn't make it a habit to take part in the action often, since she knew she wasn't really allowed to do it. It was "improper" and "unbecoming" of a young lady like herself to do, regardless of her status as heiress to the Hyuuga clan. The fact that she _was_ of such a title, meant it was all the _more_ inappropriate for her to do.

She didn't know what her father would do if he found out. Probably make her home-training sessions much harder for a month or two. If the elders found out, she _really_ didn't want to think about that. She knew that for as strict as Hiashi was, he was still her father and he loved her… in his own misguided way. But the elders didn't love her. They just cared about making the strong and the clan more prestigious and powerful in the process.

In the end, she only managed to sneak in some private time every few months. She didn't mind, but it was becoming significantly harder and harder to keep to since she and Naruto began officially "courting" as the clan would call it, and she knew that after their revelation of love to each other, they'd be pushing the boundaries of what they were "expected" to do, and only make her sessions all the more frequent, which would be difficult to manage if she was at home.

But she put that out of her mind. She was satisfied for now and that was all that mattered. Well, she was _going_ to put it out of her mind until she felt Naruto's left hand sneak around her waist and pull her even closer to him.

She let out surprised but quiet "eep" as she was pulled snuggly next to him. She looked to him with surprised, wide eyes, only to see him chowing down, eyes closed in a smile as he ate, as if it were normal for her to be this close to him.

She smiled as well as well after a second and felt a warm fuzziness in her stomach as his hand remained on her side. None of the others saw, or at least, made it obvious they'd seen it, and she was content with that.

That was only because Sasuke was desperately trying to keep his mind on the food. He couldn't shake the images that came with the sounds he'd heard earlier, and the only way he managed to suppress his blush was to eat as much food as he could, to which Naruto took as a challenge to see who could eat the most. But he was ok with that; whatever took his mind off of the _other_ subject was fine with him.

"Well, looks like we'll be able to finish the bridge sooner than expected! Now that we don't have to sneak around, we can work without worrying about being found!" Tazuna exclaimed excitedly. Finally his dream was within reach.

Kakashi nodded. "That means that we can practice out chakra exercises at the bridge, since we won't need to be alert so much."

Naruto looked up excitedly. "Alright, more training! But, we've already kinda mastered tree climbing. What's next?"

Kakashi smirked. "Water walking."

Everyone at the table gaped at him. "Oooohh! Water walking? Wow, you ninja can do anything!" Tazuna exclaimed, sounding more excited than the three genin were.

Kakashi waved it off. "Well, I don't mean to brag but…" He trailed off humorously, causing Tazuna and Tsunami to laugh.

Naruto looked at Hinata excitedly. "Y'hear that?" he asked, as if making sure he hadn't heard wrong.

She nodded and smiled, intrigued that Naruto could perform kinjutsu and yet felt like walking on water (which sounded like a simple action from the way Kakashi announced it) was so special.

It made her laugh, despite herself.

"But ya gotta eat hardy er you'll run outa energy 'fore ya know it." Gin said, pointing the stick of his fish-kebab at the two of them from across the table.

Kakashi gave a sideways glance at his partner smugly. "Oi oi, take your own advice. You'll be doing the same thing."

Gin recoiled comically, almost falling out of his chair. "Ehh? Me too?"

"Of course. After what the Hokage told me, you need as much chakra training as you can get."

"But I aint got chakra! I can't do that," he said, waving his hands for emphasis.

"Then use what you do have. You're participating whether you want to or not."

Gin sank into his seat, defeated as Naruto and Hinata, and even Sasuke laughed at their sensei.

The rest of the night went by without any hiccups and the next morning everyone got up "bright-eyed and bushy-tailed," as Gin would put it, for work on the bridge.

The next week progressed quickly, with Gin practicing, much to his irritation, along with his students. It was actually easier than he thought it would be. It was essentially the same as standing on air as he usually did, just with a few tweaks.

Hinata naturally got the hang of it quickly, mastering it within the first two days. Sasuke followed a day alter, and Naruto, due to his massive chakra, managed to just barely master it the day before the bridge finished.

The next two days were spent amongst the townspeople in their celebration, going from shop to shop as they peddled their wares openly, knowing they'd be getting tons of business now that Gatou was gone and the bridge was finished. The night before they knew they'd have to leave, the town held a massive farewell party got them in the town square. It involved dancing, singing, food, and every firework they could find.

Naruto and Hinata slipped away toward the end of it and hid atop a building, watching the fireworks go off from a distance. They held hands and sat close to each other through the whole thing, Hinata eventually leaning her head on his shoulder and before she knew it, she'd fallen asleep there. When Naruto noticed he was surprised, but smiled, like a parent might when they found out their child had fallen asleep, but didn't want to wake them.

As the party died down, Kakashi gave the oratory of thanks for the honor of being in the Land of Waves. As everyone returned to their homes, Kakashi insisted they help out cleaning up, to which the janitors of the party reluctantly let them. Of course Sasuke grumbled that Hinata and Naruto had snuck off and gotten out of helping, but Kakashi simply patted him on the back and told him that he'd have the same excuse when he gets his own girlfriend.

This only caused Sasuke to grumble more, but that didn't mean he completely ignored the idea.

* * *

"Well, looks like it's that time. Sorry we have to leave like this."

The whole of Team Seven stood at the end of the newly finished bridge, facing the rest of the town that had gathered there and the Tazuna family. Tazuna himself stepped forward and extended his hand to Kakashi.

"Is there any way to keep you guys here for just a little bit longer? None of us really want you to leave."

Kakashi smiled at him but shook his head. "I wish we could but we're long overdue to return. If we stay here any longer we'll be written up for dead." He laughed off the last part indicating he was joking.

Tazuna smiled and bowed, as did Tsunami and Inari, who'd reluctantly begun to respect the shinobi after having heard that they killed Gatou. Naruto had clearly given the credit to Gatou's death to Zabuza and Haku, but they still considered Team Seven his true killers, because if it wasn't for them, Zabuza and Haku wouldn't have been able to kill him.

"Promise you'll come back and visit sometime!" Tsunami said with a hoping smile.

Naruto smirked and nodded. "Definitely!"

With a final wave goodbye, they turned and began their long trek back to Konoha.

Tsunami waved contentedly, until she realized something. "Oh yeah, what are we going to name the bridge?"

Tazuna blinked as he realized she was right. "Hmm, that's right, a bridge has to have a name…"

They stood in silence, contemplating a name when finally Tazuna snapped his fingers excitedly. "I know! I've got the perfect name for it!"

"Really? What is it?" Tsunami asked in equal excitement.

"How about The…"

* * *

**A/N: Aaaand CUT! Thats a wrap! Hope you all enjoyed it! Phew after all that I'm rediculously tired! So, as a farewell, I'l leave you with the usuall goodbye: Hope you liked it, be sure to review,and don't be afraid to ask questions!**

**BUT DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW TOO! Questions are fine, but actual review too :) I like reviews. They make me happy! :DD**

**And NO I _WON'T _tell you what jutsu it was Naruto used, since I'm pretty sure i've given you all eough clues already. Maybe you can guess what it is? But don't spread it around if you guess right! :) hehe.**

**Later!**


	10. Chapter 10: To Change What Is

**A/N: Damn it! I saved theis f***ing thing on FF and then it logs me out right when I finis the damn author notes! Now I gotta f***ing do them again! Took me forever blah blah blah, sorry it took so long, blah blah blah, had no motivation to finish after the Rangiku scene, more blah blah blah. Thanks to all those who reviewed last chapter blah blah blah, those being, **CracktheSkye, Lican, EVA-Saiyajin, Pyromania101, SpeeDemon, Risingsolstace, Chooser, cmcwiki, Chewie Cookies, reven228, MWkillkenny84, Vallavarayan, unweymexicano, Ookami88, Hypothetical Spiritual Entity, asredwer, Orchamus, KitElizaKing, Hyrulian Hero Akai, Hee-Ho Master, KantonKageX, Oblivions End, klok775, Scorpo, **and **raveman2. **Moving on.**

**Apparently I may have given too many clues as to the jutsu used in the last chapter since several of you guessed correctly. Others of you.. not so much. Sadly you wont see the jutsu in use for quite a while, so now you have something to look forward to later on :)**

**OK, now that I've calmed down a bit, i'll talk a bit more. So yeah, as I said, I kinda lost my motivation to finish this around the middle of the chapter. Couldn't seem to find the drive to complete it. Finaly kicked myself in the butt and got to work. Then I had to upload it, and proofread it, which took a total of probably four flippin' days! Hope you guys like it, sheesh...**

**Anyway, you're not here to hear me blabber; onto the story!**

* * *

**Chapter 10: To Change What Is...**

Naruto rested his hands behind his head as he walked. "Maaan I'm beat… All that bridge building and training really takes a lot outa me."

Hinata nodded in agreement, though she was probably more exhausted than he was. Naruto had ungodly amounts of energy and stamina, unlike her, and he could practically bounce back from any sort of exhaustion.

Sasuke also had more energy than her, but still significantly less than Naruto. If anything, it probably had to do with the Kyuubi, or something.

Now that she thought about it, she hadn't given it much consideration.

The fact that Naruto was host to the Nine Tailed Fox was, for some reason, just an afterthought that didn't really seem real. Naruto was Naruto, and the Kyuubi was the Kyuubi. They just seemed so… separate. Why the rest of the village hated him, she didn't know; if even a young girl like her could see the simple truth of it, why couldn't the more mature adults?

She looked at the blond boy beside her in thought. Having no particular firsthand knowledge of the demon, she probably _couldn't _think of him as anything more than what she'd known him to be. After Mizuki had revealed the truth of Naruto's bigoted life, and during his recoup from the injuries he sustained in the fight with the chinin, she'd given it some serious thought.

But in the end, she came to the conclusion… _Why did it matter?_ The fox was a separate entity completely that was safely (and tragically) sealed away inside of him. And it wasn't like he was malicious or malevolent, not any kind of quality that might associate him with the monster. So what if he had the most powerful creature in the world stuck inside him? If anything, that very fact alone made her wonder at how Naruto dealt with it.

It made her almost envious. Their lives were similar: both were unloved, uncared for, unneeded, unwanted, and meaningless. And yet Naruto had found a way to be happy through it all, while she'd only managed to become more miserable as she grew older.

She credited Naruto's strength of spirit, at least partly, to Gin for being a father to Naruto, even if he was absent for six years. And she was becoming more and more convinced that it was Gin that allowed Naruto to push through all the troubles he had; Gin cared for Naruto, and Naruto loved Gin. That burning admiration he had for the silver haired man, and the knowledge that he was loved back, was how Naruto dealt with everything. She was sure of it.

And she was beginning to understand just how he felt during that time. Her father loved her, in a strange misguided way… but it wasn't the love she needed or craved.

Naruto gave her that love; he gave her attention; he gave her joy; he gave her hope.

And Gin… Gin treated her like a daughter! Whenever they were all out together, Naruto would always invite her to eat with them, and it just became so commonplace that he evetnually stopped asking altogether and just dragged her along with him. And then the three of them would eat at various restaurants, with Gin treating both of them equally, which was strange for her.

She'd watched Gin and Naruto interact all the time with the team, and she felt weird when he acted the same way with her. But that was of course because of her social upbringing. It wasn't what she was used to, and as she was exposed to more and more of them both, she began to realize it was what she needed.

She needed that "normal" human interaction and communication. More and more of her soul began to be unlocked by it.

In all honesty, even before Gin's little chat at the beginning of the mission, they'd both managed to show her what she was missing, and what they were willing to give her.

She snapped back to reality to find Naruto and Sasuke arguing about _something_… again, but she didn't move to stop them. Like how she was treated like a daughter by Gin, Sasuke and Naruto treated each other as brothers. She smiled at them both. _'We're all becoming just like one big family.'_

She let her mind wander back to the darker side of previous thoughts. Not necessarily the more depressing side, but the more important side. Like how she would deal with her family if they didn't approve of Naruto over time, or they arranged for her to be married to someone else. Because she knew for a fact that she was NOT going to give up Naruto. If she had to choose between her family status and Naruto, she'd pick Naruto every time.

Of course that meant she'd be practically disowning herself from her family, or her family would disown her. Either way she'd be without any monetary support or shelter. That left her wondering what she would do after that. She didn't want to be a burden to Naruto or Gin, or Sasuke or Kakashi, but she knew she'd have to plan for the event just in case. Better safe than sorry after all.

Unbeknownst to her, Gin was already four steps ahead of her. He'd considered the same scenarios she was now thinking through and had already come up with a plan for every possible outcome.

It was something he did in is free time; think up situations he might be put in and think through what he'd do. It was one of the reasons he fit in with the shinigami elite so well. Even with his informal Kyoto slang, those of the Four Houses respected him. Even Central 46 begrudgingly respected him when he was only a vice-captain.

Gin never fought a battle without thinking it through first. That was just how he was.

Little did he know there was one scenario quickly approaching that he hadn't at all considered. Not yet anyway…

* * *

The Senkai gate closed behind them silently as the two shinigami stepped through the dimensional door and onto the ancient floor of the Dangai.

"It's been a while since I've been in the Dangai. It looks different than before."

"Ever since Aizen destroyed the Kōtotsu, there's been nothing to clean up in here," the small captain explained as he and Rangiku continued on into the depths of the Dangai. After some time traveling, Hitsugaya stopped and looked around.

"I sense something nearby. Whatever that leak is, it must be around here somewhere."

Rangiku looked around as well in a vain attempt to spot anything obvious. Finding nothing, she looked back to her captain, only to see him walking further into the Dangai. Quickly following after him, they continued to travel, that strange foreign reiatsu becoming stronger and stronger and easier to sense, but remained no less elusive.

After thirty minutes of walking and sensing, the origin of the reiatsu seemed to get farther away, but in the opposite direction they were walking. "Taicho, I think we passed it."

Hitsugaya nodded and narrowed his eyes. "Yeah. Let's head back."

The retraced their steps until the reiatsu was at its peak again and they stopped. Both of them looked around at the rolling walls of the Dangai tunnel. At last, the Tenth division captain spoke again. "Start looking for anything out of the ordinary here."

Rangiku nodded and they separated, each going to different sides. Personally, while Rangiku knew how this stray reiatsu emitter might become a problem, and despite knowing it took a vice-captain and higher level or sensory capabilities, this kind of task seemed a bit below her. It was like a Hollow hunt without the Hollow. Nevertheless, she continued to search, looking dully at the wall.

At any other time she would have just lazed off and let someone else take care of it. But she didn't have a choice here in this secluded place. Plus, her captain would notice if she slacked off. Bit by bit, minute by minute, the two began to get further and further from each other. But neither left each other's senses.

At the moment they were fifty meters or so from each other, each examining the walls for any sort of anomaly. Rangiku stifled a yawn with her hand, feeling suddenly tired. As her eyes opened from the yawn, she spotted something shining just below her.

Narrowing her eyes, she stooped down to look at it.

It was a small tear in the Dangai wall where a small amount of pale light flickered through. Being careful not to touch the wall itself, she peaked through, and to her surprise, the neutral colors of twilight met her eyes, the sky changing from blue to orange and from orange to dark-blue over time.

She blinked and looked away, making sure she was still in the Dangai. She was. Then she looked back.

But as she looked back this time, she could have sworn she saw some sort of dark mist creep into her vision, and after a second, the mist form the visage of a ghostly hand as it surged through the narrow hole towards her. She backed up immediately and turned to yell at her captain when she felt something wrap around her waist and mouth. She couldn't even move her arms.

She let out a muffled cry as she felt herself be pulled back into the Dangai walls. Well, she thought she was being pulled into the wall, until she felt her body twist and warp inhumanly and her vision whirled around until it went dark.

Toshiro turned as he heard Rangiku mumble something, but when he looked to where she'd been just a moment before, she was no longer there. He blinked and looked around. "Matsumoto…?"

Suddenly, she felt herself lying on solid ground. Cool earth. She tested her limbs experimentally. No pain.

* * *

Her eyes slowly adjusted and she realized her vision had gone dark, because she was now staring at night skies. "What…?"

She sat up with a grunt. She was still dressed in her Shinigami robes, and Haineko was still attached to her waist. Nothing was different except her surroundings. Instantly she felt a sense of distance, almost like culture-shock; she wasn't familiar with these woods she was now sitting in. Everything was calm; now animals out, no Hollow reiatsu… in fact, no reiatsu _at all_.

She stood warily, looking around her carefully. She was in a dark, isolated forest. The trees around her were old and moss covered, looking as ancient as time itself. She searched for any possible conclusion to why she was here, but she found none. She'd obviously been transported somewhere, but the question was, as she voiced it; "Where am I?"

After a few minutes of examining her surroundings, she closed her eyes and concentrated on finding any source of life. It took her some time, but she finally felt the familiar feel of humans far off in the distance. However, even though if felt familiar, it also felt different. They wasn't like any humans she'd felt before. But she put that aside for now and began her trek out of the woods.

It wasn't long for her to come to the truth that she wasn't in Soul Society either. As she leapt to the sky, she could see nothing but clear, starry skies and tree-tops for miles. Soul Society was much more varied in terrain due to the numerous fights it had contained over the millennia.

But the biggest piece of evidence however was the stars themselves. The constellations spread throughout the dark canopy above her were completely alien to her. She couldn't even vaguely compare them to the stars she was used to.

Accepting the fact she was in a different place, she did the only thing she knew to do; find civilization and hope she could find a way back.

* * *

They'd finally stopped and made camp. Since there were no inns or resting places for them until the next day's end, they'd pitched their tents off the road and settled down for some dinner, which consisted of ration packs (which they all nearly gagged on) before bidding each other good night and heading to sleep.

The genin were to sleep in one tent while Kakashi and Gin slept in another. Gin had managed to pitch his own, but Kakashi had to remind him of a few things as he did so. Gin laughed and said he hadn't been camping in years; he was bound to be rusty.

Hinata slept in the middle between Sasuke and Naruto. Even though she didn't like Sasuke the way she did Naruto, she felt safe and secure between them. Both were her loyal teammates.

Naruto, unbeknownst to her or Sasuke, inched his sleeping back closer and closer to her until they were right next to each other. He didn't snuggle up next to her, since he wasn't sure if she'd be ok with that, but he did rest his head next to hers; he wanted to be close to her.

Hinata, even though she unaware of this, subconsciously dreamt of him sleeping next to her in a bed of their own, in a home of their own. Needless to say, even though it was a PG-rated dream, it was still a happy one of comfort and bliss.

The night continued that way, but Naruto just couldn't seem to fall asleep. Something was nagging at him, and he didn't know what. After a few hours of restlessness, he reluctantly got out of his sleeping bag and put his vest back on, it being the only thing he'd taken off to sleep, aside for his shoes and Shinsō.

Looking back to Hinata, she sifted, noticing his absence. He smiled and took his bag, tucking it up next to Hinata to simulate his being there next to her. Immediately she relaxed and he almost laughed. It made him proud to know he could make that much of a difference in her sleep, by simply being next to her, even if in a separate sleeping bag.

Slipping out of the tent as quietly as possible, he looked around, feeling the cool, past-midnight air on his skin. He looked up at the half-moon above him. It wasn't too bright, but just bright enough to guide him on his little stroll; he hoped it would let him sleep when he got back.

He turned and walked into the forest, making sure to be able to retrace his steps later to find the camp. He'd never had a problem with directions since he'd learned reiatsu sensor-ship; he could find the familiar signatures of any of his squad-mates from any distance, a fact he prided himself on.

He let his thoughts wander while his body auto-piloted him through the woods. In his current state of mind, he could think about things in full seriousness. Things like him and Hinata. Of course, now that they were dating, and they both knew the depths of each other's love for them, it would be difficult from keeping the relationship from getting too physical too fast. There were several problems with that. First of all, if Hinata wasn't ready for it, he didn't want to push her (since he doubted he'd be able to stop himself if they got to that point). Secondly, if they _did_ get to that point, they'd crave that physical closeness every waking moment of the day, which would be impossible maintain within the village.

That left the only times they could be physically close being missions, and there were very few D-rank missions that took a team outside the village for any extended length of time. And after this mission, they no doubt would be put off of C-rank missions for a while.

Unless there was some sort of technique he could learn that could create a special space where nothing could be sensed with any of the five senses (or optional sixth), it would be impossible to have any kind of private time together while within Konoha's walls.

But that all depended if Hinata was ok with being physical. And he wasn't thinking things like _making love_ or anything like that. He was thinking of things like simply being close to each other and things like maybe sleeping together, though sleeping together would be a bit further down the road. Making love would be MUCH MUCH MUCH later, or at least he hoped it would be. It wasn't that he was opposed to sex, but he simply thought it would be best to wait until they were both sure about it, mostly because he didn't want to make their first time together an event of perversion. He wanted it to be a time of pure love. In his mind, he wanted to starve them both of the action until neither of them could stand it, then when they finally did do it, all that love for each other would be released at once, cementing the action with the emotion.

But that was the optimal, perfect way to do it; at least, in his mind. He realized that in all practicality, it wouldn't happen like that; it would probably happen sometime in the near future. The only problem would be what he would do about Hinata's family. He was too terrified of them to ever try anything like that with Hinata while inside the village, even if they both wanted it with all their being. Also, he was afraid of what they would do to _her_ if they found out.

He was worried for her. This whole relationship hinged upon him being the perfect gentleman and model citizen in the eyes of the Hyuuga council. They needed to realize that he was perfect for her in the ways that concerned them; chiefly being, status, power, skill, and potential. Gin had said that was what they were looking for. They needed to know that it would be _advantageous_ for them to allow them to be together.

Naturally, Naruto knew that it would eventually lead to marriage, and he was prepared for it. Since he was kind of already mooching off of Gin (he was his dad after all), he was able to save most of his mission-money up.

Most noble families like the Hyuuga were prone to marry off their heirs and heiresses at a young age, and Hinata was nearing that age now; just because he was in a relationship with her didn't necessarily give him precedence over any other rich family. He already had about a hundred-and fifty thousand Ryo* saved up, and he planned to getting more. If in a few moths he can get that much with D-ranks, he knew that with several C or even B-ranks, he could get enough money to literally _buy_ Hinata from the Hyuuga clan.

But that was only _if_ he had to. He might not, since Gin had assured him that Hiashi, the head of the Hyuuga clan was leaning towards him and Hinata staying together. Naruto had been relived at that, but it didn't hurt to be prepared.

He smiled assuredly. _'Besides, even if all else fails, dad'll think of something. He always does.'_ He came out of his musings confidently.

Suddenly a strange presence made him stop. Something was coming, but it wasn't a ninja or civilian. It felt… almost like a…

His eyes narrowed and they shifted to the side. He glared behind him.

"C'mon out! There's no point hiding over there!"

He heard a surprised gasp and then after a few seconds a shuffling of feet as the figure stepped forward from the shadows of the forest.

"You… can see me?" It was a woman's voice. Naruto looked her over carefully. "Why wouldn't I be able to see you? That pink scarf of yours sticks out like a sore thumb.

She looked at him and then to her scarf, then back at him. Momentarily forgetting the importance of how he could see her, she glared at him in annoyance. "Hey! I can't stand just wearing black! I had to spice things up a bit," she said as she fingered her scarf.

Naruto turned to her suspiciously. Had he just stumbled upon her like a normal civilian, he wouldn't have acted so hostile. But the fact that she'd been specifically hiding herself and the fact that she had a sword put him on edge.

She saw his suspicious eyes and flipped her hair to the side nervously. Something about the kid made her nervous. "What?" she asked almost defensively.

Naruto's eyes roamed her body, not lecherously, but looking for a source of identification. She wore non-shinobi clothes, but she carried herself as a warrior who could definitely defend herself. But she carried no headband that could tell him where she was from. Even on assassination missions ninja wore their headbands proudly.

Even among the Five Nations and their deceitfulness, it was GREATLY dishonorable to carry out a mission without your headband. Like the attempted kidnapping Hinata had experienced when she was three, the cloud ninja still wore his headband.

So either this was an unaffiliated female bandit (which he doubted since no female bandit would look that good) or she was a special member of a wealthy lord's soldiers. He'd heard of some men keeping strong female fighters as their personal guard who not only would protect him but also carry messages to and from places, using their charms and skill to get the job done. It was also not uncommon for them to be used as assassins, since men naturally let their guard down around women.

He didn't know which she was, but he was prepared for either. "Why were you hiding yourself?" he asked at last. Not only was she no doubt a capable fighter, but he also could detect reiatsu from her, which made her the first person aside from Gin, Hinata and himself he'd ever sensed.

It was strange; everyone who used reiatsu around him was familiar, but the _un_familiar feeling he got from her reiatsu made him tense.

She blinked and had to think about it herself. "Well, I wasn't exactly hiding. I was observing you."

"Out in the open? That takes balls." His comment wasn't meant for humor, but rather was uttered from a sense of incredulity.

The woman narrowed her eyes at him. "I didn't think you could see me."

"So you _were _hiding," Naruto said accusingly. He placed a hand on his sword, prepared to draw it at a moment's notice.

Rangiku sighed inwardly. How could she explain the fact that she was technically undead (and subsequently invisible) to a kid? Though, as she examined him, he looked dangerous. In the general sense of course; there was no way he could fight her if she actually _fought_ him. But the way he carried himself worried her. Even for his age, he knew how to fight.

The fact that he had a sword and the way he dressed told her she wasn't in the modern human world either. She must have been transported to another human world in a different age. She also noticed the small pouch on his right thigh that held a small kunai knife.

Apparently her lack of an answer as she analyzed him didn't go over well with the boy and he drew his sword and pointed it at her.

She placed a hand on her sword as well, prepared, if he attacked. However, she didn't want to fight him at all, so she opted to just leave him in the dust and find someone less dangerous to try and question. Now that she knew she was visible, at least to some people, she'd need to remember not to look like she was stalking them.

With a flash of **Shunpo**, she left the boy with wide eyes. "What the…?"

He looked around quickly and spotted her fleeting form between the branches of distant trees. If he wasn't as proficient with **Shunpo** himself, he wouldn't have been able to spot her move.

Pushing his feet forward, he flashed after her.

Rangiku sighed. Now she'd need to find someone else. There was a group of four or five humans further on, and she could try talking to them, but before she could continue on, her eyes went wide as she turned around just in time to stop a flashing blade from hitting her. She stumbled from the air and to the ground, the boy spin-flipping down to the ground across from her.

"You think you can run away with _that_ level of **Shunpo**? Come on! Gimme some credit."

Her eyes were wide as she watched him sink into a combat stance. _'Impossible! How can he know __**Shunpo**__?'_

She gripped Haineko tightly, having drawn it to block the boy's attack. It was nearly impossible to believe, but his **Shunpo** was as fast as her casual speed was, which in and of itself was a speed impossible for a normal human to achieve.

Now that she let her senses wander, she could detect his vast reiatsu. It seemed as though he was unconsciously hiding it, but deep inside, she could sense an immensity of power beyond even her own. She couldn't stop a gasp from escaping her lips as she contemplated his potential.

Naruto of course took her gasp as a surprised exclamation.

Suddenly her eyes drifted to his weapon and felt the reiatsu from it; an undeniably _familiar_ reiatsu.

Her eyes widened as she saw the peculiar S-shaped hilt and the wakizashi sized blade. Instantly she lunged forward, slashing at him. He blocked with one hand, straining at the blow. "Ngh…!"

"Where did you get that sword?" she asked lowly as she pressed against him. Her voice was dangerously toned and he smiled at her.

"Like it?" he said, despite the tension in his arms. "It's mine!" With a grunt he parried the blade and sideswiped her defenseless side. She leapt out of the way quickly.

That was no doubt Shinsō, Gin's Zanpakutō. How it had gotten here was unknown, and even more, why this kid was able to use Shinigami arts was equally unknown. But that sword was not his, and she'd make sure she got it back. "**Unare, Haineko!**" She placed her right hand on the hilt of her sword the blade suddenly shifted and turned to ash, the microscopic particles blowing around her.

Naruto's eyes went wide as he watched.

"You have a Zanpakutō?" He didn't get an answer as the ash shot towards him. Why ash would hurt him, he didn't know, but he also didn't want to take any chances.

Twisting in the air he landed on tree branch, only to jump again as the ash hit the limb, shattering it and sending it falling to the forest floor. _'So _that's_ why it's dangerous,'_ he realized silently. He could only run as the ash chased him around the forest. He knew he'd need to fight her directly if he wanted to end this battle unscathed.

But that idea was blown away as more ash appeared in front of him. His eyes widened as he raised his left hand cried out. "**Hado no Goj****ū****hachi: Tenran!**" a small tornado of air circled in his palm and then burst forward into a howling gale that blew the ash in front of him away or to the side, allowing him to pass through.

Rangiku grit her teeth as she saw the Kidō. Kidō like that, especially one of that level could only be _taught_. Which meant this boy had a teacher; he even knew what a Zanpakutō was! However, even as she reconsidered that she was in Soul Society, she realized he would have known she was a vice-captain from the badge on her arm. He was either a Shinigami with amnesia, or he was just clueless as to Shinigami ways. But even then, how could he have gotten Gin's Zanpakutō? That was what was driving her over the edge.

It was disgraceful for him to even try to use _his_ sword.

Naruto bounced from tree to tree, using **Shunpō** occasionally to avoid some tight spots. _'That ash of hers is going to catch up to me if I don't do something about her,'_ he realized as he weaved between trees. His only chance was to either attack from long range or to get in close. He couldn't keep using Kidō like that. A level fifty-eight spell with no incantation wasn't exactly _easy_ for him.

He closed his eyes as he considered his choices. He knew there were few to choose from, so he chose the easiest one. It would require he get hurt a little, but it would end the fight. Taking a deep breath, he leapt to the side, back toward the blonde woman.

She saw it clearly and ash swirled around her in preparation for his attack while the rest of the swirling dust shot at him. But Naruto predicted that, and he figured this was where it was going to hurt.

He gritted his teeth as the dust encompassed him, cutting through his clothes and skin. He let out a small cry as he pointed his blade at her through the swirling cloud.

She held back on him; she didn't want to kill him. She had many questions she was going to ask him before she killed him… _if_ she'd kill him.

He was a kid after all.

But just as she was about to recall her Zanpakutō, there was a surge of reiatsu from the boy and she narrowed her eyes at his silhouetted form.

"**Ikorose! SHINSŌ!**"

If her eyes were wide before, they were even wider now as a shining blade shot from the cloud and straight toward her. She barely had enough time to recall her ash and reform her blade to block Shinsō's piercing tip.

She slid backwards from the force of the blow, and a wave of nostalgia hit her. This was nearly identical to the time when she'd stopped Gin's sword from killing Hinamori during his fight with Hitsugaya-tachio so long ago. She shook it off as she saw the boy standing there, panting lightly as he grinned at her.

"Crap. Thought that would hit ya." He recalled Shinsō back to its original form and she straightened herself, deciding to take advantage of this lull in the fighting.

"Give me that sword," she demanded harshly. The boy backed up a few steps and held the blade close to him.

"No way! Shinsō's my Zanpakutō! Besides you've already got one!"

Rangiku didn't want to have to explain her personal attachment to the sword's owner or why the sword was so important to her, and settled for simply demanding it again. "Give me the sword! If you don't I can't guarantee you'll live!" She readied Haineko again.

But the boy, seeing it, rushed forward and engaged her in close combat. The first thing she noticed was that he was fast. His strikes were wild, but _precisely_ wild. Even she was having trouble deflecting them. Shinsō was smaller than Haineko and it was more difficult to bring her Zanpakutō around to block his smaller sword.

But even if he was fast, she was a vice-captain. He wasn't at her level yet. Waiting for the next strike to her head, instead of guarding with her blade, she raised her left hand and Shinsō stopped only an inch from the back of her hand, which faced outward.

"**Bakudo no Hachi: Seki!**" A small pale silver light flashed from her hand, not only blocking the blade but knocking it back. Naruto felt his joints temporarily freeze up from the defensive spell and his eyes widened in fear as he saw her other hand grip her Zanpakutō tightly. "**Unare, Haineko!**"

The blade once again turned to ash and surged toward him. All he could do was mutter a curse before he was hit with the slicing sand-like Zanpkauto. "Shit-!"

The rest of his voice was changed into a cry of pain as he was sliced from all angles.

Rangiku closed her eyes and allowed the sphere of death to remain for several seconds, but didn't condense it any more than it already was.

After a while, she recalled her Zanpakutō back to her hilt. To her amazement, the boy was still alive.

He was on all fours, Shinsō still tightly gripped in his right hand as he struggled to rise, his breath labored and blood dripping from the innumerable cuts on his body. Not an inch of him was spared, and he could feel pain in areas he _desperately_ hoped would be healable.

He'd never been slashed across his pride before, but he realized he'd need to ask Gin for some sort of defensive spell to protect his manhood in the future. But because of the pain, he couldn't stand properly.

Rangiku stepped forward and bent down, grabbing Shinsō and trying to pry his fingers from its hilt. As soon as he felt her try and take the sword, he slashed at her, missing, but forcing her back a little. Seeing that he was still trying to fight, she tried asking him one last time to give up the weapon. "I won't ask you again, give me Shinsō."

Naruto, in total defiance, glared up at her with fierce eyes and fanged teeth. "And I won't tell you again; Shinsō's mine!"

Rangiku grimaced and placed her left hand out, the palm facing the boy. "**Bakudo no Kyuu: Geki!**"

Instantly a red light surrounded Naruto and he felt his limbs cease to respond to desire. Even though he was in an uncomfortable position, he simply couldn't move. His eyes were wide as she bent down again and slid Shinsō from his grasp.

Rangiku sighed as she held the sword in her hand. For a moment she felt relief flood through her. That is, until the blade itself emitted such a screeching wail she had to drop it to block her ears. As soon as her skin left the hilt of the blade the sound stopped, and it planted itself blade first into the ground.

"What was that…?" It was as if the blade disapproved of her even touching it.

She went to pick it up again when she felt the reiatsu in the air thicken. She turned in disbelief as the boy who she had thought had no fighting capabilities anymore growled in a deep animalistic voice, his shoulders shifting as his body shook. Little by little, his body began to move against the binding spell.

Slowly, he stood, golden reiatsu pouring from his skin and pushing against the glowing red spell Rangiku had cast on him.

With a spine-shivering roar, the spell broke, sending the boy's unrelenting spiritual energy across the forest. At last he looked back down from the sky and toward the woman. **"I told you Shinsō's MINE!"** His voice was no long just his own. It was as if there was a second voice layered on top of it. She turned to face him fully when he vanished from her sight. She gasped as a stone-hard fist smashed into her gut. Before she knew it, she was sent smashing into a tree…

…and through it. She grunted in pain as she looked back up, only to see the golden covered boy soar towards her, grabbing Shinsō on his way over. She quickly stepped away using Shunpō, barely dodging a strike that cleaved through half the tree she'd been leaning against.

She watched as the boy turned back to her glaring at her furiously. **"Shinsō's mine! **_**My**_** Zanpakutō!"** he said, his voice still strangely layered. **"But if ya want it, come 'n' get it!" **His eyes burned in sudden pain, but he pushed it aside, figuring it for some wound he'd gotten from the ash.

He rushed forward at her again, and it took all her skill to deflect his strikes. He was just as fast as he had been before, but now blocking his strikes was like blocking sledgehammers. They smashed into her sword with crushing force, sending her reeling each time. Not only that, but whenever she find an opening in his lightning-fast attacks, they'd be deflected by pure outpouring of reiatsu, or by a martial arts strike that would stop her blade; usually a fist or foot to her wrist or arm.

He spun so fast and so low to the ground she swore he almost fell from dizziness. But as erratic as his windups were, the actual impact was equally as devastating. Only a minute into their renewed fight, Rangiku knew what had happened.

She'd underestimated him. He was easily third-seat level at least, maybe even vice-captain material. While that normally would be praiseworthy and historically unprecedented for his age in Soul Society, her assumptions that she was stronger than him simply because she was in a different world nearly cost her. She knew that if she was going to win, she'd need to fight him as a vice-captain.

Putting in a few extra steps, she used Shunpō to put in some significant distance between them. He clearly saw it and surged after her, nearly as fast as she was, but without Shunpō.

She knew she only had one shot at this. She shifted Haineko in her grip and pointed both hands at the incoming boy. "**Bakudo no Sanj****ū****nana: Tsuriboshi!**"

A star shaped web of almost rubber-like energy shot toward him, wrapping around him and causing him to roll along the ground, his only stopping mechanics being friction and gravity. But Rangiku wasn't taking any more chances.

"_Walls of iron sand, a priestly pagoda, glowing ironclad fireflies. Standing upright, silent to the end." _

Her chanting stopped and she folded her hands together around Haineko's hilt. "**Bakudo no Nanaj****ū****go:** Gochūtekkan!"

Even as the blond raised his head to look up at the shadowing form above him, the massive five pillars slammed down on his limbs: one on his head, one on each arm and same with his legs. His whole form literally sunk half a foot into the ground with a resounding crash.

Rangiku panted heavily and a drop of sweat slipped from her cheek, hitting the ground with a slight patter. She raised an arm to wipe away more sweat from her brow. _'A level seventy-five spell with full incantation after a relatively easier level thirty-seven spell without incantation.'_ She shook her head at herself.

She wondered if she'd need any more spells to hold him down, but she realized anything else would just be excessive. She doubted he was even still alive anymore. He was already bleeding badly from her initial assaults with Haineko, and though it wasn't common, binding spells _could_ kill.

He had great spiritual power, but he was still just a human. A spiritual body could withstand much more damage than a human body could, even if they were both at the same level of power. His human body probably would be able to take much more after that last bakudo, if he was even alive still. His reiatsu was faint, thought that might also be because of the Tsuriboshi spell's rubber-like net covering him.

She walked over to the five giant pillars and looked for his right hand. Finding the appropriate pillar she looked at its base and saw that, true to her intention, the pillar had landed on his wrist, not his hand, making extracting Shinsō easier.

Making sure to make as little contact with the Zanpakutō as possible, which had for some reason decided it didn't like her, as she slid it into her sash beside Haineko's sheath.

She gave one last sparing glance as the pillars before walking away. The spells would wear off in an hour or so; she hadn't set them to last for very long. Though, the boy might be dead by then. Even under all that weight he was still bleeding out.

She stopped when she heard crumbling behind her. She turned in incredulity when the boy's head rose, despite the powerful weight on him. The pillar began to crack as he rose. The same with his other limbs; each one of them shuddering under the pressure. She could only stare wide eyed as the spell began to be undone. Spider-webbing cracks spread across the middle of each pillar and eventual began to crumble. The boy roared loudly as she threw of the powerful spell.

At last they shattered, raining debris down on him and kicking up dust and dirt. She shielded her eyes as it washed over her. When she looked at the boy again, he truly had no energy to continue fighting. That much was clear.

"Shit…! Shit…! Give back Shinsō…!" his voice had returned to normal and he was no longer exuding any reiatsu.

She looked at him harshly, like a parent would a child. "Please don't move. If you attack again, I will kill you."

He boy paid her no heed as he stood, his legs shaking as they did their best to support him. "Give… Shinsō…. back…!"

He stumbled forward, barely catching himself as he stepped shakily towards her, like a madman driven to a cause.

"I'm not joking. I don't want to kill you. And if you keep moving you'll die anyway," she warned.

But he kept coming. Seeing Shinsō resting in her sash, he felt a burning anger well up in his chest. With a shout he leaned forward using his momentum to charge, as feeble as it was. "She's mine!" he yelled as he rushed the woman.

She was about to knock him away when she saw him draw the kunai from the pouch on his leg. Her eyes narrowed as she knew she'd have to use her sword to stop him, and that meant she'd likely have to kill him.

She blocked his knife wielding hand with Haineko only to see another knife slip from his sleeve into his left hand. Using her right hand, she slapped his wrist, causing him to wince and drop it, recoiling. But even as he did, his left hand shot out again, wrapping around her throat.

She recoiled as well, but didn't escape his grip as his fingers gripped her neck. In a frenzied movement, she knocked back his right hand and slashed down on the hand holding her neck. Blood splashed out from his wrist and hit the ground, and on a returning upward slash sliced his chest open. His eyes were wide as he slowly fell, the moment of time dilated for an instant after the slash. Rangiku watched as he fell to the ground, clutching his chest and wrist.

She almost wanted to cry. She didn't want to kill him, but at this point she'd be doing him a favor. Death from blood loss was painful.

Now that she had time to reflect on his foolish charge, his grip hadn't been that strong on her neck. It had been weakened, as his whole body had, by the lack of blood and shock from so much damage.

She sighed deeply and knelt over him. "I didn't want to kill you…!" she choked out, a small lump forming in her throat. Killing Hollows was one thing, as was killing human-like Hollows. But this kid wasn't a Hollow. He wasn't even an adult yet. She didn't say it but she knew she didn't have a choice. _'If you just hadn't been so powerful, I wouldn't have had to hurt you so much!'_ It gave little comfort.

He was too wounded to even cry out as he held his vest to his chest, trying to staunch the bleeding as he held his left wrist with his right hand.

She felt truly, terribly sorry for him. She closed her eyes sadly. She'd made a mess of him, that was for sure. She'd make sure to bury him properly; she couldn't leave him out here to rot in the open. But first, though it pained her to no end that she had to do it, she'd put him out of his misery.

She opened her eyes and nearly jumped when she saw his one good hand reaching out to take Shinsō from her sheath. Why was he so persistent? She grabbed his hand and gripped it tightly. "Why do you want this sword so badly you'd die for it? Why would you sacrifice yourself for a sword that's not even yours?"

She couldn't comprehend it. Why? It was the only thing that ran through her mind. Every other thought was "why?" followed by and impossible sense of confusion.

Between his gurgled blood, which he coughed out onto the ground, and his tired body, she could hear what he said, but only just barely.

"Because… Shinsō's… mine…"

She shook her head and stood up, releasing his hand. She held her sword out and flipped it upside down. One stab through the heart would end it relatively painlessly.

She closed her eyes sadly. "I'm sorry."

Just as the neurons from her brain were sent to her arms, telling them to move, a sharp bang sounded out through the forest and she recoiled as her sword was sent flying away. She looked stunned as she stood and glanced around. Then she saw something further in the darkness of the forest; the masculine form of another person.

His muffled steps could be heard as he approached. "Who's there?" she asked loudly. Could it be a comrade to the boy? A family member? A friend?

She looked over to her Zanpakutō only a few feet away and moved to reach for it. But faster than her eyes could see, a shutter of light smacked into the blade sending it flying several meters away, where it sank into the ground loudly.

She looked wide eyed at the intruder, and she heard, the very faint, strained laugh from the boy as he approached.

The stranger finally spoke. "Put yer sword down, Rangiku."

Her blood went cold at the voice. In an instant her movements ceased, even her breathing stopped. She could only stand wide eyed at the man stepping up to her. His clothes were different, but that hair… those eyes… and the smile that, while currently absent, could easily have stretched across his face…

And as she looked she saw a familiar blade in his hand. Her eyes instantly fell to the blade on her waist and then back to the one in his hand. They were identical.

But that was so far less important that the actual man in front of her. Like the phantom visages she'd seen for so long in Soul Society, the haunting guise of light an air that tormented her peripherals; always there, never visible.

Her body wouldn't move. Yet he continued to approach, growing closer and closer, the darkness unable to hide his features any longer. His hair was silver, almost shining from the half-moon above, shining down on him. His eyes opened and there… there sat the two sky-blue eyes she'd fallen in love with, staring at her in complete seriousness.

At last, she moved. She didn't even notice she had. But she did. First one step. Then another. And then another. Soon she couldn't come any closer. She didn't need to; he came to her.

Even as he stood only inches from her, she could smell that peculiar scent that had always pervaded him wherever he went. Her eyes locked with his and watered with dryness, as if daring her to blink, and then open only to realize she'd dreamt the whole thing. She did blink.

And he still stood before her. Cautiously, she extended a hand, letting her fingers brush against his militaristic garb. It was real. He was solid. He was him.

His own hand rose from his side and gently went to her cheek, stroking it absently with his thumb. The warmth of his hand… the texture of his skin… It _was_ him. Beyond the shadow of a doubt, _undeniably_, it was him.

And in a rush of emotions, she felt her eyes water at last, her throat swelling, her breath returning only the heave out sobs. The hand that was on her cheek went to the back of her head, pulling her into his chest.

She tried putting a voice to all of her tumultuous questions and accusations, but all she could squeak out was the observation that he was alive. He was live… he was alive…

Her hands griped the shirt he wore tightly, refusing to let go. Her knees' strength left her and they went limp beneath her. But his strong hands kept her up, kept her pressed to his chest. He didn't say anything, but rubbed his hand gently over her wavy blonde hair as his other hand held her up.

She cried for a long time before she finally fell asleep like that.

* * *

She awoke to the sounds of chirping birds. But what she saw above her was the top of the inside of a tent. She blinked. _'What am I doing here…?'_ Then she remembered that night's events. She sat up in realization. She'd fallen asleep in his arms, her body too exhausted from the previous fight to handle the truth that Gin was alive.

So where was she now?

She turned her head at the sounds of light snoring. She was sitting on the far ends of a trio of sleeping bags. In the furthest one, a dark haired boy slept, still and unmoving. Next to him was a dark haired girl. Not black haired like him, but dark, almost with a blue indigo shade to it.

Next to her was an empty sleeping back that she was halfway laying on. She looked beneath her and saw a mass of blankets for padding against the hard ground.

'_Who are these kids?'_ she wondered almost aloud as she began to stand. She instantly felt a twinge of pain from her gut where she'd been hit the night before form that boy. _'I wonder what happened to him. Did Gin save him?'_ As she looked at the empty sleeping bag next to her she felt a sense of guilt wash over her. It was probably his.

She sighed, knowing fully what she'd done.

She stood and noticed she was still wearing her Shihakusho, pink scarf included. Her Zanpakutō however, was missing.

She grimaced slightly at the realization. She quietly opened the tent flap and slipped out, closing it silently behind her. They were nestled in a very small clearing between a set of trees only twenty feet apart. Next to the tent she just exited was an identical tent, but no one was in it. Looking this way and that, she saw no one. Hesitantly she opened the other tent and went in.

Inside she saw her Zanpakutō lying near the back. Picking it up, she also noticed two other swords next to it. When she saw them her heart nearly stopped. There was Shinsō, undeniably Gin's, and a clone of it next to it. The only difference she could see was that one had an orange hilt while the other had a cyan hilt.

Immediately she began racking her brain. What color was the sword of the kid she'd fought last night? Had his been the orange one? Or had it been the blue one? Didn't Gin show up with one too? If so, then that meant the kid's was likely the orange one.

She instantly realized what that meant. When the child had said that Shinsō was his, he most likely wasn't lying. For whatever reason, there were two of Shinsō sitting there. If they really were twin Zanapkuto, then that just meant she'd been wrong. She'd fought a battle under the wrong pretenses, and that made her feel bad.

She suddenly found herself hoping the boy somehow survived the night and would be ok, but as she thought back to the battle, she hadn't left him in very good condition.

She exited the tent, strapping Haineko to her hip and looked around. There'd been two more sleeping bags in the second tent, so that meant there were two others out there somewhere, assuming the empty bag in the first tent was the blond kid's.

Suddenly her senses were full alert and she turned around to find someone watching her. Her hand itched to grab Haineko but she stopped herself with visible effort.

The man in front of her wore light navy pants and shirt, overlaid with a combat vest not unlike the one Gin had worn the night before, if her tear-filled memories were correct. He had gray hair that spiked up and to the side, while a metal-plated headband wrapped around his head, half of it slipping down over his left eye.

He didn't move, or glare at her. At least, unless the half-lidded look he was giving her with his lone, visible eye _was_ a glare.

She stared at him evenly, as if daring him to do something. He didn't, and only looked at her with that half-intent eye of his. After a few tense seconds of silence, he finally spoke.

"You did a number on one of my students."

He didn't look mad, or enraged, but she could still see a dangerous glint in his eye as his stuffed his hands into his pockets.

"Is he alright? That kid…?" she asked hesitantly. She didn't want to believe he died. At least if he was alive she could apologize.

The man looked away and muttered. "He'll be fine. Lucky for you he heals fast, or he _would _be dead. And I would _not_ be a very happy camper. Neither would his two friends either." He gestured to the first tent where the other two kids were sleeping obliviously.

She looked back at the first tent and nodded slowly. She didn't say anything; just looked at the ground quietly.

After some more silence, she managed to look back up. "If… If I may ask… Where's Gin?"

The man blinked and cocked his head to the side. "Oh, him? After he brought you back, he took Naruto off to a nearby river."

She gave him a curious look. "Naruto?"

"Yeah. It's the name of the kid you nearly killed."

She flinched at his accusation. Clearly, even if he didn't show it, he was upset at her.

"Either way I guess it doesn't matter what happened last night. Ichimaru seems to trust you, which is more than I can say for myself. I won't ask who you are to him, since I figure we'll find out eventually. But, I will say this…" He looked at her hard, his single eye narrowing dangerously.

"…It doesn't matter who you are; if you hurt anyone of these kids again, I'll kill you."

She had the decency to look away when she heard it. He was completely serious, she knew that much. She wanted to say something, but what could she say? What would she say if she _could_ say something?

At last she managed to say the only thing that came to her mind. "I'm sorry. I acted rashly last night."

The man looked away and sat down on a large rock nearby. "Save it for Naruto," he said as he settled down, having the perfect view of her and the other tent.

She gave a minute nod and also sat down, finding a small log on the ground in the center between the two tents. Time ticked by slowly, though it was only probably fifteen minutes before there was a stifled yawn from inside the children's tent. Both adults looked to the tent expectantly, one knowing and the other wondering who was about to come out.

There was rustling around for a few minutes before the tent unzipped and out walked Hinata, and Kakashi could glimpse Sasuke gathering his wits from where he sat before following his teammate's action.

The young Hyuuga girl stepped out sleepily, her right hand rubbing her eye on the same side tiredly. She slowly came to a halt and looked around, spotting Kakashi up on the large rock. "Good morning Ka-aaaaahhhh~… kashi-sensei…" she yawned out, shaking her head afterword in an attempt to wake up.

"Morning Hinata. Sleep well?"

She gave a short nod and the jounin slipped down to join her. "No doubt being next to Naruto helped a bit, hm?" he teased lightly.

She blushed, and slowly began to fully wake up, but nodded almost imperceptibly before looking this way and that, oblivious to the spectating woman behind her. "Where is Naruto-kun…?" she asked curiously.

In truth, she'd slept happy as a clam that night knowing Naruto was next to her, even if in a separate sleeping bag. She hadn't even noticed when he'd left when she woke up only a few minutes before. Though his bag was tucked up tightly next to hers, no doubt his attempt to simulate his presence while she was a sleep, which only increased her surprise when she discovered he wasn't in it.

"Oh, he'll be back soon," Kakashi assured her while giving a pointed look to the blonde woman behind his student. Hinata missed the glance and simply nodded, nearly tripping as she stepped forward. A strong hand from Kakashi held her steady as her brain struggled to awake and orient itself correctly.

Kakashi carefully held her in place until he was sure she was able to stand on her own. "Whoa, you ok there?"

Hinata gave another nod as she stretched her stiff legs. She definitely wasn't a morning person, and with all her double training sessions, the exhaustion she'd been suffering from was really beginning to catch up to her. No doubt a few days of rest would cure her once they got back to the village. _'As soon as I get back I'm going to sleep for a week,'_ she decided quietly.

"Y-yeah I'm fine. J-just a bit tired…" she replied softly.

Kakashi smiled at her and gave her shoulder a squeeze. "Well, we'll be stopping by that hot-springs place tonight before we get home tomorrow, so you can take a nice relaxing soak when we get there."

Hinata felt her mind flow back to that night nearly three and a half weeks prior when Gin had given her the little pep-talk that was now the driving force behind her actions. Everything she now did that was different from the "normal" Hinata was the _real_ Hinata. Bit by bit she'd expanded beyond her social limitations and pursued that which would otherwise be unobtainable.

Naruto.

He was all she ever wanted, and she finally had him. No way she'd let him go now over some decision by her family. All she had to do was follow the rules inside the village, maybe push it here and there, and then on missions she'd be plenty able to do what she wanted. Within her current mind's limitations of course…

But just thinking of taking a hot soak in those springs again, after such an uplifting experience the last time, made her nearly fall back asleep in pleasure.

About this time, Sasuke came out of the tent, cracking his neck and rotating his arms around, hearing them pop and crack in their sockets. "Oi, Kakashi-sensei, Naruto go out for more training again?"

Kakashi looked behind the raven haired boy at Rangiku before looking back to him. "We'll talk about that when he gets back."

Sasuke gave his sensei a curious glance before he followed his previous gaze and looked behind him. To his surprise a beautiful blonde haired… for lack of a better description, "busty beauty" sat on a log between the two tents.

"Who's she?" he asked suspiciously.

Hinata turned, wondering what Sasuke was talking about until she saw the woman. The first thing she thought was, _'She's gorgeous…!'_

Her hair was long and wavy, and her breasts hung out generously, showing a lot more cleavage casually than many women could ever hope to have, and yet still had more inside her kimono. But even so, beauty wasn't contained just in her chest. Even her face was lovely; what with the strong blue eyes and angular face, and the pink scarf around her neck that added even more color to her dark outfit.

For an instant, Hinata felt the shadow of jealousy wash over her, but it stayed for only a moment before vanishing without a trace; Naruto loved her for her, not for what she looked like. She needed to remember that.

Kakashi didn't say anything after Sasuke asked, and he simply shrugged off the question. "We'll find out with Gin returns."

Sasuke looked from the woman to his sensei, before turning back to her suspiciously. Kakashi giving him the runaround meant that it was a serious issue, he knew that much. He settled for simply ignoring the woman, who seemed to just sit there and do nothing except watch them as he went about pulling out a bland ration bar for himself to eat.

Hinata didn't know what to do, so she began pulling the tents down and packing up the gear, prepping it for sealing into a storage scroll.

Rangiku simply watched them silently. She didn't know who they were, but apparently they were students to that Kakashi guy, who seemed to be keeping his eye on her even as he went about his miscellaneous duties.

She still didn't know anything about this world other than that Gin was here and he seemed to have gotten comfortable in it the few weeks he'd been "dead."

'_No… that's not entirely true,'_ she realized quickly. _'It's possible he's known of this place for a much longer time than we can guess.'_

At length, the camp was packed and they were simply waiting for Gin and Naruto's return. Sasuke opted to lean against a tree while Hinata sat on the large rock Kakashi had sat on earlier.

Clearly Sasuke was getting impatient though. Few would notice it, but to both Kakashi and Hinata, who both knew him and had strong perceptive abilities, he was straining not to say something in annoyance.

Finally his torment was put to an end when the two stepped out of the distance of the forest and came into view. Rangiku stood immediately as the Third division's former Captain came into view.

Neither looked any worse for wear, except Naruto who seemed to have a few healing cuts and scrapes scattered around her body. "Oh, you're all up already? Haha! Well, I guess that makes us late." Naruto scratched the back of his head apologetically.

Rangiku was nothing more than astonished. That fellow Kakashi had said the boy healed fast, but this was unreal! Haineko had done major damage only a few hours before, she was sure of it, but now all he had were a few shallow cuts? And even those were already healing!

Hinata was the first to notice them and worriedly hopped down from her perch and examined him. "W-what happened to you?"

Naruto laughed nervously and waved off her concern. "Oh, nothing big! Just a small run-in with a cat."

Though the boy didn't know it, it actually wasn't too far from the truth. Even Gin gave a small chuckle.

But Sasuke wasn't one to waste time. "So, Gin-sensei, who is this person?" he asked, cocking his thumb behind him.

Everyone stopped what they were doing to look from Gin to the woman, each one wanting to know the same thing. Gin gave a small sigh and stepped over to Rangiku, who was holding her breath. First of all, apparently, he was these children's sensei as well, which made them his students. Would he be mad at her? Would he forgive her?

"This 'ere's Rangiku, my girlfriend." He walked over and wrapped an arm around her waist, turning to face his students and colleague.

Rangiku nearly face-faulted while laughing at the same time. Of course Gin would never do as she predicted. But that still didn't tell her if he was angry with her or not. It didn't seem like it, but it wouldn't have been the first time she was fooled by Gin's facial expression or body-language.

Sasuke's eyebrows rose in curiosity. He didn't know about everyone else, but this was the first time he'd heard anything about his silver-haired sensei having a significant other.

Hinata likewise looked at the two in surprise. She hadn't expected that. Naruto however didn't react to the news, having known previous from his excursion into the woods with Gin just previously to clean his wounds. The man had explained everything to him.

Kakashi didn't make any notion he _hadn't _known, but inwardly was just as surprised as his students. Gin wasn't open about his personal life, and this was a big surprise. Still that didn't explain why she'd attacked Naruto last night. Obviously Naruto didn't want to make a big deal about it, but he'd make sure to ask Gin later. The she was indeed his girlfriend, then she had Gin's trust, which he assumed wasn't an easy thing to gain. That meant they could probably trust her too, but that didn't mean they had to like it.

She'd already done a wrong against him by hurting Naruto, and he wasn't intent on just letting her off the hook.

When the initial surprise wore off, Sasuke simply remained silent as Hinata was the one to ask the question. "S-since when?" she asked hesitantly.

Gin leaned his head back contemplatively. Finally, he simply shrugged. "Couple years I guess."

"B-but I've never h-heard of her b-before…" Hinata said, as if she were afraid to voice her mind.

Gin quirked an eyebrow knowing exactly what she meant by that. "Since when've I _ever_ been open 'bout my personal life?"

Hinata lowered her head and nodded quietly. He had a point.

Naruto sighed and shifted from one leg to the other. "Can we walk and talk at the same time? I'm kinda antsy to get moving."

They consented and finished sealing up whatever gear was left over into their storage scroll, which Kakashi was the keeper of. Aside for their personal packs, all equipment was in Kakashi's care, Gin having stated clearly that he wasn't a responsible enough individual to carry it, to which Kakashi called BS. But in the end Kakashi felt more comfortable knowing that he had it and always knew where the item was.

At last they got on the road again. Rangiku was beginning to feel a bit out of place, and saying she was uncomfortable was an understatement; she didn't know anyone other than Gin, the boy Naruto, and the other sensei Kakashi, and that was only by association. She didn't even know the other two children's names.

But, as if Gin had read her mind, he gestured to Hinata and Sasuke. "Since we're now walkin', let's get ta talkin'. Why don't the two o' ya introduce yerselves?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes but acquiesced. "Uchiha Sasuke," he said simply, not intent to give anything more to a complete stranger, even if that stranger did happen to be his sensei's girlfriend.

Hinata bowed to the woman politely and introduced herself as well. "I'm Hyuuga Hinata. P-pleased to meet you."

Rangiku nodded to her with a nervous smile. "I'm Matsumoto Rangiku, but you can just call me Rangiku."

Hinata gave a nod (complimented by Sasuke's grunt) and smiled shyly. "Hai, Rangiku-san."

Gin looked to Naruto, who obliviously was turned away. A slight nudge caused him to follow suit. "I'm Uzumaki Naruto." He didn't offer any more, unlike his usual self, simply because he didn't know how to make it not insulting after what happened last night, even though Gin had told him what had probably been the reason for her aggression.

And last but not least, Kakashi introduced himself. "Hatake Kakashi, co-sensei of Team Seven."

Rangiku would have nodded in recognition, but instead she looked to Gin in surprised. Co-sensei of a team of kids? That seemed very un-Gin like.

"Rangiku's not from 'round here, so she don't know nothin' 'bout Shinobi 'n' stuff," he continued when they'd all said their names. Then he turned to the vice-captain and assured her, "Don' worry, I'll fill ya in later."

She gave a hesitant nod, not understanding much of anything he was talking about. Whatever this world was, Gin had apparently gotten quite comfortable with its customs and norms. Until he _did_ talk to her, she figured she was going to have to take it all in with an open mind. She'd be the first to acknowledge that she didn't know much about the human world, but she knew enough to get by. Now she was in a completely different world, and the people, though also human, were bound to be different.

But she decided not to inquire into it; doing so would open herself up to questions she didn't really want to face. Especially, she didn't want to reveal what she really was, since she had no idea how they'd react to having a Shinigami traveling with them.

Then again, Gin was with there, and a leader of their team yet to boot. It was very likely they knew who and/or what he was. She was just so confused, her usual, talkative self was too nervous to say anything.

After some time of tense silence, Hinata finally perked up and spoke to her. "S-so, Rangiku-san, h-how did you and Gin-sensei m-meet?"

She looked at the little girl in surprise. She'd never been asked _that_ question before. "Well…" she began hesitantly, "when I was young, I was starving and fainted. When I woke up, Gin was there. He offered me food and a place to stay. We've been together ever since, I guess." She looked at Gin worriedly.

She couldn't very well just blurt out her and Gin's professions, nor begin to explain the trials they went through, especially after the past few months.

But to her surprise, she heard a voice behind her say, "I know."

She quickly turned her head to see the boy, his arms crossed over his chest and looking away. "You two were together until you graduated from the academy, when you were separated into different divisions."

She looked at him in shock. So Gin _had_ told someone about their origins. Or maybe… "You… know about us?"

She watched him carefully as he nodded. "Yeah, Shinsō told me everything." His arms shifted to his sides, where his left hand held the handle of the wakizashi at his waist.

She stared at the sword for a few moments before she turned back to Gin. "Speaking of which, why _is_ his Zanpakutō exactly like yours?"

Gin felt a smirk threaten the spread his grin wider. "There's a lil' known phenomenon wh're two people can get th' same Zanpakutō. Usually Central 46 has 'em fight to th' death for the right to wield it, but since there's a fortunate lacking of Central 46 'round here, I reckon nobody'll care if we both have th' same Zanpakuto."

Rangiku felt her eyes widen. She'd never heard of such an thing before. But even more surprising that that was the fact that, to her rational mind, to have the same Zanpakutō must mean the two Shinigami would have to have nearly identical souls.

She gave another look at Naruto, and then back to Gin. That was when it was confirmed for her in her mind; that sword, for whatever reason, really_ did _belong to him. _'So during the fight last night… he really was…'_

She heard a throat clear behind her. She turned and saw Kakashi, if she remembered correctly, with his fist to his mouth as he looked at her expectantly. Knowing what he wanted, she looked away and stopped.

At her cessation of movement, everyone stopped and looked at her. She breathed in deeply and exhaled before turning to face the other blonde behind her. Naruto looked at her, unsure of what she was doing.

Hinata and Sasuke likewise stopped and looked at the two of them. Sasuke for the most part had been lost throughout the majority of their conversation. He knew for a fact that Gin wasn't indigenously from Konoha, and he accurately assumed the woman wasn't either. So wherever they _were_ from was a place with different customs and organizations than that of shinobi. He also had no doubt that Naruto already knew this, and probably Kakashi too.

Hinata… maybe. He wasn't sure, but he wouldn't put it past the blonde idiot to share the information he knew with his girlfriend. Naturally, that left him with the conclusion that he was the only one who _didn't _know about his sensei's past. Sure, it bristled a few hairs and hit his pride a bit, but he wasn't the kind of person who'd go about blindly waiting for an explanation. He'd get it eventually, but he wasn't going to wait around for it, that was sure.

He was brought out of his musings to the woman talking. "Uzumaki Naruto," she began quietly, a sad look covering her face. "I want to apologize for my actions last night. I acted rashly and attacked you under the wrong pretenses. And above all I used excessive force when I should have restrained myself." She bowed at the waist deeply, her torso becoming almost parallel with the ground below her.

"Please accept my apology."

Naruto looked at her surprised. But after a few seconds, he sighed and rubbed the back of his head. "What's done is done. It's in the past."

Rangiku let out a breath of relief. It would be bad if he held a grudge over that incident. She rose from her position smiling thankfully at him as she said as much in gratitude. She sent a subtle glance to the grey-haired man who nodded his approval to her.

However, both Sasuke and Hinata were surprised. "Y-you were attacked?" Hinata suttered as he looked to Naruto, as if searching for any telltale sign of injuries.

Naruto laughed and scratched his head. "Don't worry 'bout it, I'm fine! You know how I heal. It was a misunderstanding; no big deal."

Sasuke gave his teammate a sideways glance as if to say he didn't believe him, but he left it alone. Hinata however, continued to look at him as if he'd just been mortally wounded, searching his body for injuries of any kinds. She wouldn't use her Byakugan on him, for privacy's sake (and for her conscious health), so she couldn't tell whether he was hiding any wounds under his clothes, but as far as her sharp eyes could tell, there wasn't a scratch on his visible body.

Worriedly, she decided there was nothing to fuss about, and so let it go… for now.

Without further ado, they continued on. Hinata now keeping herself closer to her boyfriend than she had been previously. The fact that he'd been in danger the night before and she hadn't sensed, or somehow known about it, concerned her; she didn't like that she hadn't felt at least _something_ regarding his safety the entire time. Though she supposed she could also blame him for that; her mind was at ease since it believed that he'd been sleeping next to her the entire time. There was no reason to be on edge or attentive.

But she promised herself she'd never again be caught off guard when it came to the only person she loved.

She looked down at his hand, idly swinging by his side. She quietly looked at her own hand, before reaching down and gripping his in hers. He blinked and looked down as well, seeing their palms together. He looked back up at Hinata and smiled happily, gripping her hand tighter in encouragment.

Sasuke watched them from the side quietly. He couldn't help but wonder why they always did that. What was so special about holding hands? That's all it was, right? Just holding hands. Or was there something more to it than that?

There had to be, if they kept doing it. Was it a special action shared between lovers? Sex he could understand, but holding hands? What was with that? He vaguely remembered Kakashi mentioning something the other day about getting a girlfriend._ 'Maybe I should try and find someone too. Couldn't hurt, could it?'_

After a while of various thoughts and contemplations, Naruto finally perked up. The sun was beginning to set and they'd been walking for several hours since setting out from their camp sight. The road was beginning to look vaguely familiar, and Naruto remembered that this was the same road they'd taken when they left the inn with the hot-springs.

"Ne, ne, tou-san!" he called out to the silver haired man walking ahead of him

Rangiku turned as well, wondering who the boy could be talking to. _'Father? Is that Kakashi fellow his dad?'_ she pondered, seeing him as the only person who the boy could consider a parent. But to her surprise, Gin turned his head back in response.

"What is it?"

"How far are we from those hot-springs we stayed at before?"

Gin blew out a breath of air ponderously. "Prolly 'bout… an hour 'r so, maybe."

Rangiku looked at him incredulously. "Tou-san?" Immediately her mind began whirling. Was it possible Gin had fathered a child in this world secretly? Judging from the boy's size, he was easily twelve or thirteen years old. Could Gin have managed to keep such a thing a secret for so long, and raised him, even while being a captain in Soul Society?

Her next thought was, _'who's the mother?'_ but that was answered by Gin's response. "Oh, right. I adopted little Naru there a while ago."

"Adopted?" she asked him as Naruto celebrated in the background along with the rest of team seven, who were all glad to have something like a hot-spring to look forward to that night.

"Yeah. Found him few years back half-dead, so I adopted him. Couldn't leave th' little guy to die in the street, now could I?"

Rangiku immediately shook her head. Even she wouldn't be able to leave such a sad creature alone. But to adopt them? She doubted she'd have had the will to do that to any random child. But as she thought back, she'd been adopted by Gin too, in a way. When he'd found her, he'd taken her under his wing, nursed her back to health and taken care of her.

Suddenly she felt as if she'd glimpsed a side of Gin she'd never seen. First of all, she had no idea what Gin was like as a "father figure." It was an interesting, if not entertaining image that didn't feel really fit with the Gin she knew.

"But why adopt him? Why not just take him to an orphanage? They have those here don't they?" She said "here" in such a way as to refer to this world. Gin understood that. If he was right, she'd come here through the same passage he'd used to get here. How, he had no idea, since his Zanpakutō was the only one capable of reaching the torrential reiatsu deep inside the miniscule portal that would grab and drag you through. He hadn't thought Haineko was capable of that, since whatever touched the energy needed to be solid to be dragged through.

He nodded to her. Speaking so only she could hear him. Naruto was blissfully chatting with the others, and he didn't want to remind the boy of bad memories.

"Oh sure, but…" he fell silent for a moment. "When he 'as young, they kicked 'I'm outa there."

Rangiku's eyes winded. "What? Why?"

Gin remained quiet. How should he answer that?

"You'll find out 'ventually." And that was that.

She looked at him curiously before resigning herself to that answer. If Gin didn't want to talk about something, he wouldn't talk about it. There was no use trying to egg it out of him.

She looked back at Naruto, wondering what secrets were held behind those bright blue eyes of his. If there was one thing she knew, it was that even a joyful and happy looking child could be the most unfortunate and hurt soul in the world. Which made her feel all the worse that she'd hurt him herself last night.

She wondered what kind of pain he was holding back, or possibly, had forgotten.

As the sun came down to crest over the horizon, they spotted the familiar inn in the distance. They approached it hastily, the adults dragged forward by the young, energetic teens in front of them.

They opened the door and stepped inside. The adults went straight to the counter while the three kids went on into the dressing rooms for the springs.

Kakashi greeted the woman behind the counter with a smile. "Yo, long time no see." The woman instantly recognized them.

"Oh! Back again? How long has it been?"

Kakashi shrugged. "Mmm, about a month probably. Same rooms as before, if that's ok."

"Oh perfectly! We don't get much business around here, so they're still open. Go ahead and head on up when you're ready."

Kakashi nodded and grabbed the bags the three genin had conveniently dropped by his side as they ran to the springs. With them in hand he led the way to the rooms and tossed his students' bags in one before moving onto the next room beside it. He shirked off his backpack and threw it on one bed as Gin did the same.

Finally he turned to Rangiku and looked her over. "If you've got any baggage, you might as well drop it off here."

Rangiku looked herself over before shrugging. But as she saw Gin remove his Zanpakutō from his outfit, she realized she probably wouldn't need hers either. Taking it off, she laid it on the furthest bed and walked out behind Kakashi and Gin.

* * *

Naruto leapt into the water with a splash, Sasuke following right behind him. Normally the Uchiha would have scoffed at his Uzumaki counterpart, but he couldn't deny that he was excited for the hot bath as well.

They both let themselves sink under the water before coming back up. Naruto sighed loudly. "Ahhhh… yeeaaaahh…"

Sasuke likewise let out a prolonged groan as he leaned against the side of the pool. A minute later, Kakashi and Gin also both walked out. Discarding their towels, they too joined their students, albeit much more maturely.

Once they had gotten settled in the steaming liquid, they all began to chat about this and that. Sasuke, remembering what he'd wanted to ask earlier, spoke up. "Gin-sensei. I don't think it's fair that everyone _but_ me knows about where you came from or who you are. Mind filling me in?"

Gin looked at his student quizzically. "What makes you think everyone else knows?"

Sasuke shrugged his shoulders. "For a fact, I know Naruto does. You're his dad after all. And Kakashi-sensei probably knows too, either from the Hokage, who I know _has_ to know, or from just figuring it out on his own. And then Hinata, I bet Naruto's told her about you too. So that just leaves me _not_ knowing. I don't _like..._ _not_ knowing."

Gin sighed. "Well, I figured I'd have ta tell ya 'ventually." He looked up, contemplatively. "Where should I start…?"

"How about where we're from?" Rangiku suggested.

Naruto nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I love hearing this story!"

"Ok…"

Suddenly every male looked to the woman sitting amidst them. Both Naruto and Sasuke had the same reaction, which was to shout in surprise and to back up to the absolute opposite side of the spring.

Kakashi blinked in surprise, as Gin felt a rather large glob of sweat roll from his forehead.

Rangkiu looked at all their reactions obliviously. "What?"

Gin, expression unchanged, scratched the side of his jaw nervously. "Ano… Rangiku, y'know there's a women's side… right?"

Naruto pointed and shouted at her indignantly in agreement. "Yeah! This ain't a communal bath! The fuck're you in 'ere for?"

'_There he goes again…' _Gin realized as Naruto's speech pattern changed. But that wasn't the only thing he was referring to. "Naruto, 'member what I told ya last time we were here?"

Naruto looked at his father and nodded, his rage momentarily forgotten. "Sure."

Gin simply pointed down. Naruto followed his gesture and nearly smacked himself in the face. "Gah- Damn it!" and sank back down into the water.

_'I've gatta learn to stop standing in rage…'_ he realized in embarrassment.

Sasuke, ignoring Naruto's outburst, tried to rationalize how he could have missed her coming in, undressing, and getting into the spring. _'I didn't even see her!'_

Rangiku merely blinked at Naruto, but didn't make any comment as to his physical self. Instead, she seemed more concerned with Gin's statement. "I know, but no one else is here. I thought it would be fine if we shared."

Naruto immediately made an X over his chest with his arms. "Not _fine_ at all!" But as soon as he said it, his mind caught up with him. _'Wait a minute, what about Hinata? Does that mean she's alone on the other side?'_ He eyed the dividing wall between the two baths.

Gin seemed to catch onto his train of thought. "But Hina-chan's in th' oth'r bath. You just gonna leave 'er 'lone?"

Rangiku blinked and put a finger to her lips as if thinking. "Huh… I didn't think about her. I guess she could come over here if she wants."

"How about _you_ go over _there,_" Sasuke said with a tick-mark on his forehead.

The vice-captain, whether in an attempt to use her body as an advantage or out of plain old lack of decency, lifted a leg out of the water and raised an arm as well, as if stretching. "but I'm already cozy here. You wouldn't make me get up and move would you?"

The two boys merely glared at her in response.

"Or could it be you just want to see me out of the water?"

Instantly Naruto and Sasuke blushed and looked away in realization. "T-t-that wasn't my intention at all!"

"Y-yeah! I only have eyes for Hinata! Not some random decentlyattractive lady like you!"

Gin felt another glob of sweat form, fall, and merge with the previous one. _'He ain't gonna make it.'_

Sliding over to Kakashi, leaned in and whispered "run interference for me fer a minute." He didn't offer anything as far as _why_ he wanted interference, but the jounin didn't bother questioning him as the silver haired man slid out and grabbed a towel before heading back inside.

* * *

Hinata sighed as she sloshed around in the empty spring. _'I guess Rangiku-san didn't feel like coming. I guess that's ok with me, since she hurt Naruto-kun. I don't know what I might say to her. I don't want to be mean, but I don't really like her that much…'_ Of course, that was just first impressions talking. Hinata by nature hated fighting, and by association, conflict, whether it be physical or emotional. She knew her innitial agressiong towards the woman would fade with time as she got to know her, which she didn't doubt would happen sooner rather than later since she was officially dating their sensei.

She sighed and she rolled in the three feet of water that was the shallow end of the spring. Still, while she didn't mind being alone, she did feel lonely, like she had before. Not quite so much this time, since this time she was dating Naruto, and subsequently had _him_ on her mind rather than various conflicting emotions and thoughts.

She was surprised when she head a pair of footsteps from the spring's entrance. Out of the steamy mist came Gin's half-naked form. _'Déjà vu...'_ Thankfully this time, instead of climbing over the wall in just a towel, he came in the proper way and was wearing his black pants.

She immediately stopped swimming and made sure her body was adequately hidden beneath the water. For some reason, she didn't feel nearly as embarrassed as she had before the mission. Whether it was because she was sure it wasn't for lecherous purposes, or because, somehow, her newfound relationship with Naruto made all other men's opinions of her irrelevant, she didn't know. However when Gin finally spotted her through the mist, she didn't shy away from him like last time.

Instead, though she did blush (an unavoidable event), she covered her chest protectively, just in case, and faced him.

"Oh there you are," he said as she walked over to the edge of the spring.

"G-Gin-sensei? What's wrong?" Gin wasn't a pervert, or at least, if he was, he didn't openly show it (which if was the case, she would rather remain blissfully ignorant of the fact), so she assumedhe must have come to talk to her about somthing important. Even so, she already guessed the probable reason why he was here. _'He's probably worried about me feeling alone.'_

It was kind of him, for sure, and since he was her sensei _and_ (if all went according to plan) her future father-in-law, it was a much appreciated gesture, even if an indecent and mostly-inappropriate one. Also, she knew the man; he wouldn't come in for lecherous purposes. No action that man made was wasted.

He shrugged, "Oh nothin'. Jus' wanted ta make sure you were ok," he said as he sat down. She'd guessed right.

She nodded in assurance. "I-I'm fine. But… w-why didn't Rangiku-san come out? Was she tired?" She figured it was probably best to start out with small talk. In all honesty, it was more for her own sake than his. If she could decieve herself into getting comfrotable with the situation, whatever he had to say to her (which was no doubt important, if his last little venture to her side of the springs was anything to go by) would be able to settle in her mind properly.

Gin nervously rubbed the back of his head. "Nah… she came out all right…"

Hinata looked at him curiously for a minute, unsure of what he meant. As if in response to her questioning stare, Gin merely cocked a thumb over in the direction of the other spring.

Her face paled as she realized what that meant. "W-w-what?" Instantly her jealous, protective side (in regards to Naruto) went on overdrive and she felt a heat of rage build up inside her belly. How dare that woman go buck naked into the boy's side? That was completely _wrong!_ If it were just her and the adults, she probbaly wouldn't care, but Naruto was over there! Oh, and Sasuke. But to parade herself in the men's side without a shred of decency... and more importantly, to parade in front of _her Naruto_ without a shred of decency was... _unforgivable!_

She felt her face redden in anger now, rather than embarassement. _'I'm the only one Naruto's supposed to ever see naked!'_ she thought furiously, steam beginning to seep from her skin... or perhaps it was from the water boiling hotter around her as her emotion tranceded into an element of heat. But her eyeswent slightly wide as her mind caught up with her emotional thoughts. _'I-I-I mean, if he were to see anyone naked that is! Logically it should be me... yeah. Since I'm his girlfriend, and we love each other.'_

But even as the thought passed through her mind, she realized that a month ago, she wouldn't have even dared to consider that would be something she'd be fusing over only four short weeks later; she'd changed, however "improperly." Her values were starting to get mixed up between what she _really_ cared about, and what she was _expected_ to care about.

Gn nodded at her outbirst sympathetically. " Yeah... ta be honest with ya, I don't think Naru's gonna last over there," he said with a sheepish look, as if it were embarrassing for him as well that Naruto was being practically seduced by his girlfriend. "It would probably be a good thing if ya… well…"

Gin made a few vague gestures with his hands which Hinata, after a few seconds of confused misunderstanding, got. She blushed heavily. It wasn't the first time Gin had suggested the action. But it was first time after letting his little talk with her incubate. Before, she'd been far too embarrassed and self-conscious to even attempt _thinking _about it. Now, after letting the realization of her and Naruto's relationship sink in, with both Gin's constructive chat and the two's revelation of love for each other, and after conforming to _herself _rather than others' ways of life, _and_ breaking free of the chains that had been laid upon her during her short, sad thirteen years of life…

It still was completely ridiculous to her. Completely improper. Totally and absolutely vulgar. And above all, unquestionably and outright _mortifying!_

And she knew deep, deep down... she wanted to do it.

She had to be honest with herself; she'd spent the last month wondering what it would have been like if she had accepted Gin's invitation that first time, and what might have come of it. She wanted to do it _then,_ but her taxed and laden mind simply wouldn't allow her to fully realize it. Like computer virus, instead of keeping to her programming, it distracted her with all sorts of excess actions, worries, and thoughts. The worst part was, the virus had been there since she was born; born into the life of a Hyuuga. Over thirteen years, she'd grown into a timid, diffident, dangerously introverted sheep. A shee that was fed, tought and expected to obey instructions if it wanted to be fed again. She'd lost sight of what was realy her. Or rather, she'd never really lost sight of it; she'd just convinced herself that her _real_ side was evil and wrong. But her attraction to Naruto bgean small enough not to be detected by the radar that was her trained resistance to anything un-Hyuuga-like. Over time, like medicinal plague, it grew into affection, and now, realized as full blown love. The gradual change has allowed that small seed of attraction to grow, and that one element of deviance was the invisible fissure of the walls that imprisoned her mind. A crack was all that was needed to brign them down, and now it was there. And it would never be repaired. She would never let anyone fix that small crack; she would guard that fracture from the inside, while Naruto chisled from the outside, shrouded behind Gin's protective form.

But now… Now she had a chance to relive that moment. Before, she didn't know if she'd be able to handle it, but this time… This time would take the chance, go out on a leap, and hope for the best. Plus, she had to make sure Naruto wasn't raped, or worse, _coerced_ by that, that…

'…_Bitch!'_

She caught herself as the thought entered her mind. _'Where did that come from?'_ The normally shy and sweet natured Hinata had suddenly, for an instant, fallen away. Suddenly she realized, in her righteous jealousy, she was letting out one of those bottled-up sides that had been suppressed for so long. The determined side that would do anything for her dreams, and those she loved, was peeking out of its shadowy cage. She felt as if she'd suddenly become someone else. As if what she'd thought had been… justified.

It was ok. It was fine. That was what she thought. She realized that it was not something an Heiress of the Hyuuga clan should think or feel; it was unbecoming. But it was true. And in the long run, what was worse? Perfectly apposite untruth, or candid vulgarity?

That was up to the side of her that decided was right and wrong, and right now, unfortunately for her family, the honest-with-yourself side of her was currently dominant. _'And it'll stay that way as long as I can manage!'_ she decided with silent determination.

She looked up at her teacher, forcing her eyes together in a resolute stare, though she knew it must look feeble and half-hearted in his eyes.

Hey, cut her some slack, she was just starting to open herself up.

Gin saw her eyes, their forms slowly flit back and forth in their sockets as she internally contemplated her place in the universe. Finally they came to a stop staring straight back at him. Her blush extended from her face to her shoulders, but she nodded with as little hesitance as she could manage.

As soon as she finished the movement she wanted to take it all back and just stay there; her _real_ "dark side" trying one last time to suppress her. But the approving, almost proud smile on Gin's face shoved those feelings away.

She was doing nothing wrong. She was doing what was needed. She was doing the _right_ thing. The right thing by _her._ Not by anyone else.

She crawled to the edge of the pool and grabbed her towel.

Gin had already gone back inside.

* * *

"Oh, you're back. We were just betting how long Naruto would last before he give up and screws your girlfriend."

Naruto shot Sasuke a murderous look. "Fuck you! I already said I only have eyes for Hinata!"

Sasuke smirked and closed his eyes, arms folded across his chest. "Uh-_uh_… sure."

Naruto growled at him and stood up facing the Uchiha. "_This_ doesn't lie!" he said pointing down.

Sasuke opened an eye to see what he was bragging about now, and felt his eyes go white as saucers.

"Wow, that's some self-control! Can you do that Sasuke-kun?" Rangiku said as she stared at Naruto like a child who'd just seen a really neat toy.

Sasuke blushed and recoiled like frightened cat. "O-of course I can! I'm an Uchiha! I can do anything he can do and better!"

"Hmm? Prove it?"

Sasuke's eyes widened even further as he looked this way and that for an excuse to get away. He'd make up any excuse to do anything, but he'd never let himself be shown up by Naruto. And his excuse came in the form of Gin as he returned, the fact that he'd missed the man getting out and going somewhere an unregistered fact in the Uchiha's mind.

"Sensei! Naruto's bragging about his dick again!"

"I am not! I'm just proving my point!"

"Bull shit!"

Gin briefly wondered if it would be better to just go to the now empty spring next door than to deal with the kids. Thankfully though, Kakashi was there to save the day.

"The way I see it, he does make a great point." Now it was Sasuke's turn to give murderous glances, this time to his other sensei.

"What? The boy can keep his cool," Kakashi said honestly, hiding the muttered "more than most guys can do…" under his breath.

He was about to see what Gin had to say about it when he noticed he still wasn't in the water. He craned his neck and saw Gin still standing above them, towel around his waist. It was like he was waiting for something.

He wondered what that something might be, but then his brain caught up with him. _'Ohhh… _that._'_

His thoughts were confirmed when he saw faded silhouette behind the silver haired man in the entryway.

Both boys were too caught up in their own fight to notice until it was too late. When they both finally noticed the presence of a fifth person, they both nearly jumped in surprise.

Hinata stood there, towel about her, looking as nervous as a little girl on the first day of school. For once, both Naruto and Sasuke were struck speechless. Sasuke couldn't believe that Hinata, his teammate was there and what she was about to do. Naruto likewise couldn't believe it; here, his girlfriend, was about to bathe not only with him, but also his team.

But as his shock wore off, it was replaced by… something else. He couldn't quite explain what it was... It almost felt as if something had been taken from him from right under his nose. And then he knew what it was.

It was jealousy.

He didn't want anyone else to see her. Somewhere in his mind, he'd cemented in the fact that she was _his_ and no one else's, and he felt jealous that he'd have to share the image of her body with everyone else that was there.

"Hinata felt a lil' lonely over there on the other side," Gin threw a pointed look at Rangiku, who acted like she hadn't seen it at all. "...so she decided she wanted to join us."

Hinata walked up, her hands fidgeting in front of her. As she approached the side, she looked left and right, realizing nobody was looking away.

Kakashi, seeing this, cleared his throat and motioned for the boys to close their eyes.

Momentarily holding himself back, Naruto closed his eyes, as did Sasuke. But their ears were wide open. They heard the shuffling of cloth as she dropped her towel to the ground and the splash of water as she settled in.

They didn't open their eyes, knowing she or Kakashi would say when it was ok to open them again. There was no sound for a while, but then the sound of more splashing coming closer and closer. Suddenly, Naruto realized the sound was coming toward him. Right next to him. He could feel the displaced water wash against his chest.

He didn't move, and kept his eyes tightly shut.

Eventually Kakashi spoke again. "Well, I think it's ok to open your eyes now."

Sasuke opened his eyes and realized Hinata now sat between him and Naruto, her fingers poking together. If he didn't know better, he'd say Naruto was blushing almost as badly as she was.

Though out of surprise, Sasuke jumped back a good foot or two. He'd expected she'd be there, but the realization that she _was _was still startling.

When Naruto opened his eyes however, he didn't look at her. Instead, he stared straight ahead as if looking at her would invoke the wrath of the gods and he'd forever branded as a pervert via lightning bolt.

Kakashi, deciding the silence that purveyed the spring was probably making things more awkward for her than it should have been, started up some idle chat with Gin, who now joined him in the hot water.

Hinata prodded her fingers together nervously, so many thoughts buzzing through her head.

'_Will Naruto look at me? Will he like my body? Will he be mad that I'm with other people? Is he ok with me sitting next to him? Will-'_

She felt her train of thought stop when she glanced aside slightly and saw the side of his right arm next to her shaking, almost violently.

In surprise she looked up at his face. He was shaking like a leaf, and she could tell from the way he was tensed up, it was in fear; he was afraid. But what was to be afraid of? He was a guy. Guys always peeked. Right? That was normal for them.

'_But… what if he's thinking the same thing as me? What if he think's I'll be mad at him for looking? _Would _I be mad if he looked?'_

She didn't know the answers to those questions. She felt the water shift to her right and she looked over to see Sasuke retreating over next to Kakashi. For whatever reason, she was thankful he did it.

She looked back to Naruto, and then saw out of the corner of her eyes, Rangiku eyeing them from across the spring.

Remembering the reason she'd come over here, she inched closer to her blonde love. They both jumped when the bare skin of their hips touched. "N-Naruto-kun…"

Naruto imperceptibly turned his head so that her face was barely in range of his peripherals. "W-what?" he asked, as if afraid he'd be killed for saying anything more.

Hinata gulped and with great spiritual strain, took his right arm and brought it behind her back and set it on her waist. "I-its o-o-ok. I'm n-n-not m-mad," she assured him, placing her hand atop the one of his that was now on her hip as if to say, "See? Not mad." Reluctantly, he nodded, allowing his head to turn more towards her.

Now, for Hinata, this was a big deal, and he knew it. But didn't fully realize how _much_ of a big deal.

Skin-on-skin relations, to her, was fine, to a point, and she'd steeled herself for the eventual event of it. He'd rubbed her arms before, and she'd massaged his back. Not to mention the meaningful kiss that day a week earlier. They'd cuddled too, when they had time or were alone.

However, she hadn't exactly pictured them snuggling (however tensely) in a hot-spring. That was a very, _very_ different type of skin-on-skin relationship. But now that they were in it, they might as well try to get comfortable with it.

She felt her stomach quiver like she'd eaten a dozen butterflies. But she wasn't entirely shot with nervous hesitation. She too seemed to shake, but unlike how Naruto did it out of fear, it seemed different for her.

'_I'm not afraid, but… I almost feel… excited? Am I… excited that we're naked next to each other? Oh Kami…'_ This was something she hadn't expected. She'd expected herself to faint or shy away in fright of the fact they were naked, but here she was, jittering as adrenaline coursed through her veins.

But, to her surprise, Naruto's hand about her waist pulled her tightly to him, as if he thought she was afraid. If only he knew the truth. In all honesty, he probably just made it worse, but at least she felt better.

Presently the others began to head inside, divvying up the rooms between them, deciding that the adults would share one room while the kids would have another.

That left the two of them alone in the hot spring.

"H-hey, Hina-chan…"

She looked at him with the same shaded blush.

"H-how much of _t-this_ is ok… e-exactly."

She looked back down and wondered the same thing. She knew for a fact they couldn't go all the way, since she still had monthly physicals to make sure she was in tip-top health, regrettably conducted by her family physicians. But… it was a very good question. How far could they go?

"N-no more than t-this… please…" She closed her eyes and rested her head on his shoulder hesitantly, and felt his muscles flex as he nodded. They stayed like that for a while, and after some time had passed, they began to forget their predicament and simply enjoy each other's company. It wasn't long before they felt themselves nodding off. When Hinata felt Naruto's head rest atop hers, she assumed it was probably time to get out and go to bed.

She carefully shook the boy awake, being careful not to jostle him too much, and being equally careful not to touch him inappropriately. Sure she could if she wanted to, but with him being asleep it'd be like raping him! She wanted him to be awake, and at least able to designate boundaries. So, sadly, she couldn't roam his well built chest or abs, and she definitely couldn't go lower, even if she wanted to, which she didn't. _'I can peck at the bars, but I still have my dignity. Besides… Neither of us are ready for _that._ Not for a while anyway.'_ She tried to imagine what that day (or night) might be like, but when she felt herself become uncomfortably heated in her face, she realized she couldn't._ 'Yeah, not for a while.'_

Slowly, Naruto's eyes opened, and he realized where he was and what he was doing. He gently rubbed his eyes and shook his head, trying to stay awake. "C-come on Naruto-kun, we need to get out now."

He nodded numbly and allowed himself to be dragged over to the side of the spring closest to the entrance. As he got to the wall he hesitated.

"Erm… h-how do you want to do this?" He looked at her uncertainly. She contemplated it for a few seconds before she audibly gulped. And then, to his shock, he saw her get out beside him, stark naked. It was all he could do not to faint as the image of her graceful figure permanently burned itself into his brain.

She bent down to pick up her towel, thankfully (for Naruto) turning to the side so as not to reveal anything… unnecessary. By nature Hinata never grew any hair except on her head and her secret place, which was a strange anomaly, even among normal Hyuuga women. Though it made her glad she never had to shave her legs, it made her feel slightly freakish.

She quickly wrapped the towel about herself before tapping her fingers together nervously. Naruto could tell, even though he'd seen worse blushes from her, she was about to cry out of embarrassment.

And he did mean cry. Whatever had gotten into her head when she climbed out had obviously not prepared her for the realization that he'd just seen her naked form, if only for a few seconds.

But in his own way, Naruto figured it might make her feel better if he was put in the same boat as her. _'Misery loves company after all.'_

Swallowing loudly, he too pushed himself out of the water and stood in all his naked glory as he looked for his towel.

He didn't hide anything, since she hadn't either, but he could feel his hands twitch in desire to shield his proof-of-gender. Hinata watched on in unhidden awe as the water dripped from his limbs, small trickles of liquid sliding down his body. She suddenly realized how muscular he was.

Surprisingly, he didn't have much hair on his body either. Instead, he only had armpit hair, a light blonde layer on his arms and legs, and an almost undetectable trail from the center of his chest downward.

Ultimately, her eyes followed that trail lower, and found herself perplexed by his groin. She'd known what boys looked like due to class in the academy, but they'd never really gone into extreme detail. Most of it was a kunoichi class that taught girls how to use their natural charm, and the weakness of men to get by in their dangerous profession.

She almost cocked her head as she looked at him in what, at any other time, would have been a cute gesture. She'd never seen a boy in real life before, not the way she was seeing Naruto anyway. An accidental glimpse from her active Byakugan didn't count since it was always in monochrome, and she either blocked out the memory of it (thanks to her Hyuuga personality training/brainwashing) or zoomed back out for decency.

Naruto, to his credit, did his best to keep his cool, but the knowledge that his dearest love was looking at him was too much for him to handle, and to his mortification, his member began to swell. He'd been too surprised by Hinata's action earlier to feel aroused, though now that he thought about it, the memories came back and it made it all the worse. It didn't get too big, as he gritted his teeth and did his best to force it back down.

Hinata, knowing the same level of his embarrassment, didn't stare for too long. It was the first male she'd ever seen, and she secretly hoped it wouldn't be the last time she saw him. The lump in her throat slowly vanished as she saw Naruto in such a state. It wasn't so bad when she wasn't the only one. Naruto understood her feelings as equally as humanly possible, and that made it easier on her.

Naruto quickly found his towel and wrapped it around his waist, trying to remain oblivious to the slight bulge remaining underneath it. But then the strangest thing happened...

They both looked at each other, and Naruto began to grin.

It was a nervous grin, mostly forced, but it seemed to cheer Hinata up. She smiled as well, and then it turned into a giggle. Naruto joined her, unable to resist laughing. Apparently the thought had hit them both at the same time; what they'd just done… wastotally,_ completely_ inappropriate, and while embarrassing… kind of exciting!

They laughed off their nervousness, and soon found themselves totally comfortable with both themselves and each other. Hinata couldn't help but look at his indented towel, but then again, he couldn't stop glancing at her covered bust.

"Y'know, I never said anything about it... probably because I never noticed until now, but you're… um… kinda big in the… 'top' department." Naruto said, looking away and scratching his jaw. Hinata blinked and looked down at herself. "I-is that good?"

Naruto scratched the back of his head and looked down at himself, prompting her to follow is gaze. She found herself staring at his tent again and realized what he meant. "Well… it's not bad…" he laughed nervously, giving his fox-like smile to her. She'd never considered herself big, or taken any particular pride in her size, but now that was going to change. She smiled back at him and held her arms over her chest, proudly this time, knowing Naruto liked her the way she was.

She was brought out of her delighted thoughts when she saw his hand glide across her pale arm and stop at her hand. Gently, he peeled her fingers away from each other and laced them together with his. She smiled shyly and accepted it, gripping her hand around his.

"C'mon. Let's go get dressed before everyone starts wondering what we've been doing." He laughed lightly at the thought. Hinata did likewise.

"Y-yeah… this would be k-kinda hard to e-explain…" she agreed with a smile.

With that they went inside to their respective dressing rooms and got presentable and headed to their rooms. Opening the door to the room he, Hinata and Kakashi had shared on their trip to Wave, he went over to where his bag sat on the middle bed.

Sasuke was totally out of it; his deep breathing and faint snoring indicating he was fast asleep. The lights were out, but being shinobi, their eyes adjusted quickly and they made their way to their beds.

Opening his bag, Naruto pulled off his vest and shirt, carefully folding them and placing them beside his bed, ready to be worn in the morning. Lastly, he took off his pants, stripping down to his boxers as he folded his black pants and laid them on top of his other clothes. Whether it was from the psychological security of the darkness or the fact that most guys were fine with just being in their boxers, he didn't feel nearly as embarrassed or nervous as he did before.

Hinata likewise felt… safer, for lack of a better word, but she couldn't bring herself to strip in front of him. In her mind, already being naked was one thing, but consciously stripping in front of him, even if in the dark, still felt… wrong. Well, maybe not wrong. Say… more like awkward.

Naruto looked at her expectantly as she stood there in front of her bed; not moving, not doing anything. Just standing. But as he did, he eventually smiled and turned his head the other way.

She let out a small breath and thanked him silently as she reached into her bag. Somehow, Naruto seemed to always know what her absolute limits were and took appropriate action. But as she opened the bag in front of her, she felt her blood run cold.

'_T-this is…!'_ There sat the item she'd thought she'd hidden so perfectly, sitting on top of everything that was inside. How it could have gotten from the bottom of the pack to the top without jumbling everything else up… it was impossible! Only outside intervention could have done that. And in that instant, she realized that someone else had not only seen the item, but also placed it there.

She looked back to Naruto, only to see the back of his head still. She quickly turned back to the bag. She quickly picked up the thing and held it tightly. The only people who could have had access to her bag was whoever had taken it to the room, which was most likely Kakashi, and Sasuke, who'd been in there for a while before they arrived.

She eyed the Uchiha carefully. It seemed so unbelievable, that she had trouble picturing him as someone who'd invade anyone's, let alone her, privacy. She looked back to the item and was about to hide it again when she stopped herself. She took another look at it pensively. Her eyes flitted from it, to Naruto's turned form, and back. After a second's thought, she laid it beside the bag and unzipped her jacket, laying it beside the bag. Her pants came off next, folded and lain atop her jacket.

Clad in only her light purple panties and matching bra, she picked up the item again. _'I… I don't think he'd mind…'_ But then again, it wasn't so much about him minding as _her_. It was her most secret possession; she had to work hard to make sure it wouldn't be found by anyone in the clan. Especially her sister; Hanabi was always looking for a way to knock her down, especially after their father had begun to realize Hinata wasn't as strong as her little sibling. Hanabi began to realize soon after that, that Hinata was becoming less and less the likely candidate for clan-head succession.

Because of that, the little girl had begun a long intricate campaign of humiliation and degradation against Hinata. Anything she could get away with and hurt her elder sister sufficiently was game.

Even at her age, Hanabi wasn't above to dipping her sister's hands in warm water while she slept.

Hinata narrowed her eyes in both sadness and anger. _'Those are always the most embarrassing mornings…'_

Hanabi was abusive too, especially during training sessions where they were allowed to hit each other. Hinata, being the kind soul she was, couldn't bring herself to fight her sister seriously, or to stand up for herself. She didn't want to think what the girl would do to ruin her relationship with Naruto. The very reason she was even allowed to "date" him was because it was, in the eyes of the elders, a potentially advantageous relationship between herself, the current heiress, and the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki. As long as they were together, and Naruto remained to be a positive factor in the eldership's opinion, her position as heiress was guaranteed.

She knew that much, and was somewhat thankful for it. But she also knew that if Hanabi found out about it, her life at home would become a living hell.

And because of her little sister, she had to make sure to keep the thing away from her prying eyes. To that end, she'd hidden it under a pile of clothes deep in her dresser. No one would expect her to hide anything there, since it was used solely for her underwear. And she didn't need to worry about someone finding out since she did her own laundry.

How it even ended up in her bag in the first place she still didn't know. But now that it was…

"Almost done?" She almost jumped at Naruto voice. "M-mm. Just a second."

She'd go through with it. Naruto would like it, right? He was a guy, so he probably would, and he loved her too, so… _'If it's my best kept secret, I don't think it's right that I keep it from him…'_ and as she thought about it, she realized there was more to it than that. _'No, Naruto deserves this. His life has been a living hell too. He'll understand.'_

She looked back to him and confirmed he still wasn't looking. Reaching behind her, she hesitated only for a moment before she unclasped her bra with a _snap_. She slid it off and placed it on top of her jacket. Feeling her breasts fall free, she picked up the item and prepared herself.

Naruto couldn't help but wonder what was taking her so long to get presentable. It's not like she had to get ready for anything right? She didn't curl her hair or anything, and even if she did, she'd have gone into the bathroom. _'Maybe she's just nervous with me being near her while she's dressing? Yeah, that's probably it. You know, come to think of it, we haven't kissed in a while… I should probably try to get a good one in before we get back to the village. I doubt we'll have any external missions for a while after this one, so We'll probably have to wait untill then,'_ he realized sadly. _'Unless her dad, for some improbable reason, doesn't care about us kissing.' _Then he realized the total stupidity of such a thought and rolled his eyes cynically. _'Yeah, right.'_ He resisted the urge to scoff aloud when he heard his love's timid voice from behind him.

"O-ok, y-you can t-turn a-around now."

Somewhere in the back of his mind, he noticed that she sounded almost more nervous now than she had before in the springs. But it was so imperceptible, he didn't really notice. So when he turned around, he was caught completely off guard by what stood before him.

Instead of her usual night attire she'd worn for the past month in wave, which was usually just simple light pants and a t-shirt, she wore something almost completely _opposite of _what he would have expected... from her of all people. That wasn't to say it was a bad thing though…

He felt his eyes grow wide as saucers as he tried to capture all of her in his vision at once. She wore a beautiful night-gown that made her body look so much more like a grown woman's. It was a faded, light pink color that, in the darkness, blended well with her purple panties that were clearly visible beneath it. In fact, to his utter shock, the whole piece was half invisible. Through it, he could see every cure of her figure; the widening hips that were bound to only get wider as she grew, and, the pièce-de-résistance, the most incredible thing he'd ever seen, the only slightly obscured appearance of her breasts.

He'd never seen a woman's breasts before. Not fully anyway. Even earlier when he'd complimented Hinata on her size, he couldn't see what they completely looked like. The only thing he'd seen first-hand was whatever cleavage was shown by various women in the village, and since he did his best not to be a pervert, he didn't allow his eyes to linger or his mind time to dwell on them.

But as he watched the fidgeting Hinata in front for him, he realized how much of a struggle it must have been to decide to wear such a gorgeous gown. Her eyes were looking anywhere but at his; she had her hands clasped behind her back (a noticeable oddity, since her usual nervous stance was the grab her left arm with her right hand over her chest), and she was shifting her weight from one leg to the other.

"Hi…Hinata… y-you look…" He couldn't quite put it into words, but the best his failing mind could come up with was, "…beautiful!"

Hinata looked at him with widened eyes. "R-really…? You really think I look…?" She didn't finish, but his nod cut her off anyway. He was half stunned and she could tell. She'd specifically changed her posture so she could allow him to see all of her front, thinking he'd like it. In the darkness, she couldn't be sure if he could see much or not, but she at least wanted to try and give him a good view. Actually, it was probably thanks to the darkness that she'd been able to do it at all. "Deeds done in the light are judged. Deeds done in the night are feared," her father had instructed her once. She doubted he'd been referring to something like this, but it still seemed to apply.

"You're gorgeous… But... why are you…?" He left the question hang in the air as he took a step toward her. Damn, he couldn't help himself. Her entire figure was so incredible, he couldn't keep his eyes from wandering. First they trailed up her pale, slender legs, up to the hem of her frock just below her crotch, tracing her hips as they melted into her waist that led up to her breasts, finally ending with her cute, surprised, but happy face framed by those two bangs that hung down on either side of her head. Her pale lips seemed to quiver ever so slightly in tension, but still managed to look completely delightful.

But most of all, he couldn't keep his eyes from practically raping her chest. _'Wow that sounded bad…'_ He couldn't help but take in every detail about them. The mounds of flesh didn't hang from her chest, as he'd noticed other women's breasts did, like Rangiku. Her breasts seemed to grow straight out of her body, and dead center on both of them was a pink, petite nipple that, to his amazement, seemed to stiffen and extend by a fraction of an inch, just enough to jut out, making little points in the dress.

She refused to shrink under his gaze, and even took a step forward, as he did the same. When they were only a feet away, Naruto couldn't help himself and swooped down and captured her lips in a heavy kiss. At first her eyes shot wide in surprise at his swift loving attack, but almost immediately after closed her eyes and allowed herself to melt in his arms. It had been almost a month since their first, and last _real_ kiss, and she'd secretly been wanting another one. She wasn't going to stop him at all.

As soon as their lips touched, their tongues surged out to meet each other, almost literally fencing with each other as they dueled, intent on showing that they had more love to give than the other. That same love she'd felt before returned with a vengeance. In an instant, she felt as if the world's greatest ocean had been dropped on her, and she was suffocating, smothered by his love as it practically assault her, forcing her to feel how much she meant to him, and making her realize why and how much he loved her.

Her hands gripped his both of his sides as his left hand slid across the back of her neck, drawing her even closer to him, and their kiss even tighter. His right wrapped around her torso, pulling her body close to him. Her breasts pressed against his chest firmly, and she could feel his body shiver with excitement as she shifted in his grip.

Slowly, his right hand began to creep downward, inch by inch every few seconds, until he grasped her left lower cheek in his hand and pulled upwards. She moaned into his mouth as she was drawn up into his embrace, tighter and more secure than ever she'd felt before. His tongue pushed against hers, almost driving her back into her own mouth. But she would have none of it; she fought back with equal force, refusing to be outdone.

As she shifted to get a better vantage point, she could feel _it_. With her pelvis so tight pressed against his, she could feel his insane desire for her press against her lower belly. She moaned in surprise as she tried to decipher all of the senses that were going awry in her body. She couldn't concentrate too much on anything else though, lest she lose the war of the tongues, but she was able to spare a few seconds of distraction.

With her eyes closed, she couldn't examine him as much as she wished she could. But she could feel him, and she realized what she'd seen earlier at the spring as only been a miniscule glimpse of what he really was. Now, without any sense of mental restraint, he grew to his fullest, sadly hindered by his boxers' inflexibility and angrily trying to force his way out of them; even what she was feeling now wasn't all of him!

But she didn't have long to wonder in awe at him before her lungs started to burn. She continued to do her best to keep up with him until at last, she could contain the burning no longer and had to separate herself form him, gulping in air like it was her last. Likewise, he did the same. Apparently, he was also doing _his_ best to keep up with _her._ She would have smiled, and maybe even laughed at that, had she the breath to do so.

Naruto held her up tightly, pressing her into him with his left hand and up with his right, still firmly gripped around her right buttock, in a deep, encompassing embrace. When she'd finally caught her breath, she realized that his hand was still holding her rump and she gently pushed herself away from him; just enough to look up into his eyes. "Naruto…"

She removed her left hand from his waist and placed it atop his right, but did not draw it away from its firm placement. His grip did however, loosen a bit, ready to release her if she felt uncomfortable. "…w-we really need to g-get some sleep…"

Naruto smiled and nodded, but didn't let go of her. When she looked up at him to ask why, she saw his gaze off to the side uncomfortably.

"A-about that… Do… do you mind if… I mean, would it be ok if we… Gosh, how do I ask this?" He paused for a moment. "Do you want to sleep with me?" As soon as the words left his mouth, he immediately shook his head and stuttered a correction. "I-I-I mean, sleep! Just sleep! Not-… yeah, just sleep."

She blinked at him in surprise. Was that ok? She hadn't thought of sleeping together in the strictest sense of the word. As she thought about it now, she realized she didn't feel completely opposed to it. Her only main concern was whether they could control themselves; what with her in her revealing night-gown and him in only his boxers. Both so close to each other… both so accessible.

"J-just sleep…?" she questioned quietly. He nodded solidly. "Yeah just sleep. I mean, we haven't had any time together for a month, and I don't want to just end it with just kissing. Not that I want to go all the way; no! Well, m-maybe someday, but neither of us are ready for that. But…" he looked away sadly. "…I don't really feel like sleeping alone tonight…"

Instantly, Hinata felt her heart reach out for him, and then she realized it wasn't _just_ her heart, but also her hand; she placed it on his chest lightly. She could feel his heart beat under her palm, and she could have sworn she felt it miss a few beats.

She couldn't resist. Naruto was always honest. If he didn't want to talk about something, he'd just say so; he wouldn't lie or try to get out of it. And he certainly wasn't deceptive or manipulative. So when she heard him say those words, she immediately wanted to just hug him forever; she didn't want him to _ever_ feel alone, especially not when she was capable of erasing that loneliness.

But at the same time, she didn't pity him for feeling that way. She felt the same. The only difference was that she hadn't thought of that as a possibility. After a few seconds, she smiled at him happily; his eyes were bright and warm, ready to accept whatever decision she might make, be it yes or no.

That decided it for her. She'd do it. "S-sure, let's do it!"

Naruto eyes expanded happily, and he pulled her back into him for only a second before letting her go. Like an excited child, he went over to his bed in the middle and pulled the covers back, exposing the cool sheets beneath. He waited until Hinata stepped next to the bed and crawled in before he followed suit.

They lay there, facing each other, but the distance between them made it almost awkward. Unbeknownst to them, they were both thinking the same thing.

As one, they scooched closer until they were only noses apart; the breath of the other wafted over their faces and their legs began to weave between each other. _'Now this is more like it!'_ The blonde smiled at the young Hyuuga in his arms. She looked at him shyly, but didn't move to stop him or recoil; on the contrary…

But as their legs found their final resting places for the night, she felt an overwhelming fatigue hit her like a truck, and she couldn't stop her eyelids from slowly closing, hiding her pale eyes from view.

Naruto smiled as he saw her drift off, and with a final, loving kiss to her forehead, he pressed their brows together and joined her.

* * *

**A/N: And there you have it, chapter 10. Hopefully the next few chapters will be more motivating since they will, of course, follow the story line (thouse of you who know it by memory know whats coming up next), and I'll leak it to yall now... a certain jutsu WILL be used towards the end of it. So look forward to it!**

***150,000 Yen is about $2,000, and Yen and Ryo are pretty close to each other in value, or at least as far as I've read.**

**Can't think of much else to say. Hope ya liked it! Leave me a little (little = big) shiny review for me to read! They keep me going.**

**Till next time! Peace!**


	11. Chapter 11: Happenings

**A/N: Wow, school kicks butt, and not in a good way. What with League of Legends buddies wanting me to play and Modern Warfare 3 distracting me, ATOP school work, I've had to kick my own toosh in gear. Took me long enough, but I amanged to finish this chapter. YAY! Let me tell you, I had ZERO motivation to do this one. It just... bored me. THere was so much I DIDN'T want to do, but I knew I HAD to do do do the things I DID want to do. Yeah. Like that. Anyway, nothing in my personal life at the moment to comment about, so let's move on. **

**Thank you, **EVA- Saiyajin, Orchamus, yukicrewger2, Tikitorch559, NorthSouthGorem, Chewie Cookies, pyromania101, Zaralann, CracktheSkye, Hypothetical Spiritual Entity, cmcwiki, Skelo, SpeeDemon, reven228, Hee-Ho Master, GuardianOfTheMist, KitElizaKing, Furionknight, The-lazy-bum, RisingSolstice, Lich Kings True Demon, Eirdaru, Archmagelite2000yrs, RElarax, ZeroLink21, KantonKageX, The Infamous Man, angel61991, Just passing by, Kogane1087, darkhollow93, **and** Leaf Ranger **for taking the time to review this story. Its your words of both critisim and encouragement that keeps me going.**

**That said and done, lets get to the main event shall we? Oh and I thought it might be worth mentioning; If I touch on a subject, but don't go into much detal or elaboration on it, I probably know that. Odds are, I'll refer back to it in more detail later on in the story via flash-backs or internal monologues. If you feel the need to point out something you want more information on, I'll probably have already planned to work on it later. However, that doesn't mean I don't want you to point it out; there may be something I missed and need to adress. That's somthing I'd like to know :P**

**Be forwarned, this chapter isn't very exciting, and is basically a buffer chapter to transition from the Wave Arc to the Chunin Exams Arc. Also, know that I HATE buffer chapters. Usually. I just don't get ito them, which means slow update times. With them out of the way, chapters will usually come faster. Key word: "usually." **

**That said, let's move onto the story. Shall we? **

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter 11: Happening**

The morning came all too quickly for everyone, as the sun slowly rose and peaked through the single large window in each room. Sasuke slowly woke up, blinking away the sand in his eyes as the light poured into the room. Groaning as he sat up, he looked over and saw his two teammates sleeping quietly in their beds. He sighed, picked up a shoe from beside his bed and threw it at the boy next to him. "Oi, get up, it time to get dressed."

The shoe landed with a thump and was received by an accompanying groan from beneath the covers. The blonde drew the sheets back with a glare and sat up tiredly. A quick stretch of his back, and a few pops later, he fell back onto the bed as his muscles woke up as well.

"Oiii… Hina-chan… time to get up…" though he meant for it to be a soothing wake-up call, it came out as almost an annoyed, or tired, mumble. Fortunately, she didn't pick up on it and simply yawned as she sat up in bed, pulling the covers around her protectively, trying to keep some of the accumulated warmth from the night from escaping her body in the room's cool air.

Sasuke slipped out of the bed quietly and ambled into the bathroom without another word, and Naruto looked over to Hinata with a grin. She likewise smiled back at him and let the blanket fall, revealing her revealing, and extremely sexy nightgown still adorned. In the light, with the golden luminous element dancing across her skin, she looked perfectly angelic to him.

She blushed under his admiring gaze, her hands reflexively moving to cover up her chest. She stopped herself halfway though, knowing that it was just Naruto with her.

However, Naruto saw this and looked at her seriously. "Hey, if you don't feel comfortable, you don't have to go the extra mile just to show me your tits. I-I mean sure they're awesome and all, but if you're uncomfortable, it's fine if you cover up."

She blushed again and smiled at him. _'He's always so considerate.'_ Nevertheless, she kept her arms down as she got out of bed and turned away from her love, slipping her gown off and putting on her pants and bra. Naruto watched her the entire time, regardless of his impeded bad view, which he wasn't sure was purposeful on Hinata's part. Either she was great at teasing or still shy. _'Probably both actually.'_

She slipped her thread-mail shirt on and pulled her jacket over it, zipping it up quietly. At last she turned around and noticed, with a deeper blush, that Naruto hadn't been unaffected by her unintentional show.

"N-Naruto-kun, you need to g-get dressed too."

Naruto sighed and nodded pulling the covers aside as swung his legs over the bed. Immediately he blushed as he noticed his lil' soldier standing at attention, embarrassingly straining against his constricting boxers.

Hinata's eyes widened as she saw him, now in proper lighting, and realized that from the way he was pushing against his undergarment, there must be much more than she could see just waiting to be relieved of its confining constraints.

She blushed at the knowledge; she filed it away internally. It wasn't information she needed right now, but eventually, _'hopefully,'_ it might be useful to remember later.

Naruto blushed and stood, his boxers shifting awkwardly as their prisoner twitched uncomfortably. Even so, Naruto didn't ask her to look away. For as honest as he was, he was a bit of a hypocrite; he might tell Hinata not to try so hard to please him, but he was doing the exact same thing for her. He wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. _'Tou-san said that doing something without the intention of being rewarded is a good thing, so… I guess it's good…?'_

He turned around and repositioned himself within his pants, knowing full well that Hinata probably knew what he was doing. He ignored that little fact and grabbed his pants, pulling them on quickly. Once done, he felt much better. He had no problem being shirtless, since he'd done it many times before in public areas, but pantless… that was another story entirely.

Slowly Hinata came to realize that Naruto was actually more embarrassed about it than she was. Sure she'd shown him her breasts last night and this morning, though only because her gown was so thin, but for guys, who can't hide their arousal as easily as girls can, it was far more awkward for them, and more directly, Naruto.

She confirmed that much when he immediately calmed down once his pants were on. She smiled at him sweetly, though he didn't see it. _'He's such a sweetheart; there's not a selfish bone in his body.'_

She came back to earth as he put his green vest over his black T-shirt and fixed his little sword onto his hip.

The bathroom door opened suddenly and Hinata instantly rushed to hide her secret outfit in her bag. Sasuke walked out, fully dressed, backpack in hand before sitting on the bed. He paid his teammates no heed as she slipped on his shoes.

Naruto, seeing as how Sasuke didn't seem to notice anything amiss, and thereby confirming in Naruto's eyes that their secret was safe, likewise slipped on his shoes. It had been early in the morning when Naruto had woken up and suggested that Hinata should probably go back to her own bed in case any of the adults came in or Sasuke woke up. Gin was lenient and supportive of their relationship, but he wasn't sure how the man would view… _this._

So, for the sake of safety, Hinata went back to her own bed and finished off her morning slumber.

Hinata followed suit and put on her shoes as well, before all three packed up whatever they had strewn about and left for the breakfast bar, closing the door behind them.

To their surprise, they arrived only to find the three adults had beaten them to it. "Well, well, well, guess who finally showed up to eat?" Kakashi asked rhetorically to no one in particular. "What took you three so long?"

None of them answered as they grabbed some food before sitting down. The adults continued their conversations as the kids quietly ate. "So glad we're finally heading back to the village today. It'll be great to finally sleep in my own bed again. Oh yeah, and Ichiraku ramen too! Yeaaahh…" Naruto nearly salivated as he thought of the moment he'd slurp up a whole bowl of the glorious food.

Sasuke gave an ambiguous "hmh," before sipping on his orange juice. Hinata, for her part, resisted the urge to literally inhale her cinnamon roll.

After a while of quiet eating for the kids, and idle chatter for the adults, Kakashi stood up and announced it was time to leave. Grabbing a few extra treats for the road from their tables, they slid their packs onto their shoulders and headed out.

Their journey was pleasant for several hours after leaving the hot-springs. They talked about this and that, passing the time through conversation as the traveled the beaten path back to the village. Surprisingly, Rangiku managed to work herself into the dialogue with simple comments and interjections. It was a good thing, in Gin's yes. The sooner she learn to be friendly with his team the better; he didn't want to bitterness she felt over hurting Naruto to linger. He didn't worry about the boy holding a grudge, since that just wasn't him, but he knew that she'd feel awkward around him for a while, regardless of the previous night's seeming return to normalcy.

As time passed on, the sun began to set, and it was that time when the village gates came into sight. With expressions of joy, the three genin practically ran the rest of the way to the village, passing by Kotetsu and Izumo with a wave or two (not three since Sasuke doesn't wave), and continued on heading to the Ichiraku Ramen stand as per the usual routine.

Naruto had long since established a habit of eating at Ichiraku's after a mission _before_ going to report to the Hokage. That had no changed since it began.

"Oooii! Old man! Three miso ramens, stat!" he yelled as he dove under the stand's privacy flaps and sat at the counter's stools, Hinata following after him along with Sasuke. It wasn't the Uchiha's favorite meal, but it was ok every once in a while.

"Oh, just for you?" Teuchi said as he smiled at the blonde, glad to see him back after so long. "Surely you're going to share right?"

Naruto simply rolled his eyes and cocked his thumb at the two behind him as they took up flanking seats beside him. "Fine, they can have three bowls too."

The man laughed nodded. "Fine fine, three miso ramens for you, and what will the lady have?"

"M-miso ramen is ok with me too," Hinata said as she placed her hands on the counter.

"Mhm, and you Sasuke?"

The Uchiha shrugged. He didn't have any particular preference. "Surprise me."

"Haha, will do then." He turned around to begin fixing their meals as Kakashi and Gin stepped in behind them. "Oh, Kakashi-san! And Gin-san too! Here for my ramen too are you?"

They both waved him off lightly. "No thanks, we're good. By the way Naruto, Kotetsu and Izumo said to tell you you need to give them more than just a passing glance. They get lonely sitting there all day you know."

Naruto shrugged. "That's the first I've heard of them actually caring whether I talk to them or not. The only reason I began waving at them in the first place was out of common courtesy, then it became a habit."

Kakashi sat beside Hinata on Naruto's right, as Gin sat beside Sasuke on his left. "Well, you never gave them a chance to talk with you. You never know someone 'till you get to know them."

Naruto scrunched his face up slightly before shrugging indifferently. "Meh, I'll talk to them sometime."

"It'll have to wait until after you eat; here's your food!" Teuchi placed the bowls in front of them one by three by one.

"Awesome! Hey, where's Ayame-chan? She's usually here."

"Oh she's been feeling a bit under the weather the past few days. Just a small cold, nothing to worry about."

"Oh well, I hope she gets over it soon. And on that note, ITADAKIMASU!" And without a word more, he dug into the first bowl of ramen, slurping loudly and satisfactorily. The sound was echoed, though with considerably fewer decibels by Hinata and Sasuke.

Teuchi shook his head. "I'll never know where he puts it all. Or where he gets the money to eat as much as he does."

"I can answer that," Gin said with a smirk as he handed over a roll of bills. "Hopefully that'll cover this and his next few meals here."

Teuchi smiled at him and accepted it. "Paying up front huh? Being our best customer has its perks, wouldn't you say Naruto?"

"Yeah! The foods great!"

He laughed as he watched the blonde devour his food.

They ate quickly, but leisurely as well. When they'd finished, Kakashi sighed and looked down the main road to the Hokage tower.

"Well, I guess we'd better go report in mission successful."

The three genin look at each other before slumping at their leader. "Aww, c'mon sensei! It can wait until tomorrow right? We're all tired now."

Kakashi was about to insist when he looked at his watch. _'Wow, that time already? Never mind then.'_

With a sigh, he waved them off. "I guess it couldn't hurt. Get outa here."

They all smiled as they looked amongst each other happily. "Yes! See ya later Sasuke!" Naruto called as he waved goodbye to the Uchiha, receiving only the briefest of waves in return.

As he and Kakashi turned to leave for their own homes, the three left began their small walk to Hinata's house where they'd drop her off before heading to their own home. They didn't talk much, though Naruto's hand itched to reach out and grab Hinata's from where it swung idly at her side. But he knew he couldn't risk it. First of all he didn't know if he was "allowed" to do so by those stuck up Hyuuga elders, and he didn't know if they were already being watched. Sure they'd only just gotten back from the mission, but they never knew if a Hyuuga had spotted them.

With his ability to detect reiatsu, it was easy to pinpoint their Hyuuga watchers when they were alone (or at least semi-secluded on team outings and such) because he could detect any foreign reiatsu. Here in the heavily populated parts of the village, it was impossible to tell.

He'd need to be careful from now on; they both would.

Little did he know she was resisting an equally compulsive urge to take his hand where it was folded with his other behind his head.

_'This isn't going to be easy,'_ she realize silently. She knew that from the beginning, but only now did she actually realize _how_ difficult it would be.

Soon, they came to the front gates of the compound. A lone guard stood by them, and his eyes lit up as he saw the three approach. "Hinata-sama! Your back! Your father will be pleased to know you've returned safely!"

Hinata gave a hollow nod. If he was pleased, it would only be because they completed the mission successfully.

The guard opened the gate as she stepped forward. She approached and took one last look behind her; one last look at the source of so much joy in her life and waved goodbye. Naruto smiled and waved back, waiting until the door closed behind her and her family member before heading off to their apartment complex, Gin beside him.

"Think she'll be ok? From what I've heard, her dad isn't the nicest person." Naruto looked to his father worriedly. Hinata hadn't exactly painted to prettiest picture of him during their conversations. He hated every day when he was forced to leave her at the door of her family's residence and watch her disappear inside it. He dreaded any hurt she might suffer within without him there to protect her.

Gin was silent for a minute before he responded. "Hiashi ain't hard ta figure out, but at th' same time, he can be hard ta predict. Odds 're he'll be happy we got the mission done alright. What mood comes after that is up ta him."

Naruto frowned. He didn't like that. Not one bit. But there was nothing he could do; his hands were tied. The only thing he _could _do is go home, sleep, and meet Hinata as early as possible in the morning. _'The sooner I can get her away from her family, the happier we'll both be.'_

They both approached the building Naruto had lived in since before he could remember and leapt up to their level, unlocking the door with a key from his back pocket. Walking in, he kicked off his shoes as he closed the door behind him. He and Gin had two separate apartments, both nright next to each other for ease of access, since one was simply too small for two people. Ignoring where he deposited his clothes as he stripped down to his boxors, he turned off the lights and flopped ont the bed, willing sleep to come and accelerate the night away.

His first sign that it wouldn't happen was the slight tingling he felt in his eyes before he closed them.

* * *

**Eight hours later:**

"GAAAAAAAAAHH!"

The cry was painful, not just to imagine the pain of the one screaming, but also to even hear.

Naruto gripped his eyes tightly, straining against the pain that sought to rip his orbs from their sockets. "Ghh…! GrrraaHH!" He threw his head back in tormented pain against a thick tree trunk, no longer able to control himself. He didn't know then the episodes started; they just… happened. If he looked back on it, it had started out with only a slight pain in his eyes, and had progressively gotten stronger and stronger until… now.

He smashed his head into the tree's hardened bark… he didn't even know how many times before the pain began to vanish. The ache in his skull remained, though whether it was from his eyes or his head-banging, he wasn't sure. Nor did he entirely care. His head hurt, and he was intent on nursing it as best he could.

He hadn't told anyone. At first he thought it was just a migraine and it would pass in a day or so. But it had only gotten worse, and he didn't want to admit something was wrong with him. Gin knew; he figured it anyway. The man knew just about everything, but even so, hadn't said anything to him directly. Gin had been there during the beginnings of one of his episodes, and seemed both concerned and suspicious of Naruto. But he hadn't said anything about it since then.

Naruto assumed that meant he didn't know what to do about it, so it was probably best just to not mention anything. At the very least, he'd visit the hospital if things got really out of hand. So far, he was still far from that point. In his own opinion anyway

It may have _felt_ like he was about to die, but he knew it was only a feeling. It would pass in time. Soon, the pain dimmed low enough for him to ignore the throbbing in his ocular organs. He held his head tightly as he fell to his knees, leaning against the tree for support. His fingers pressed against the lids of his eyes, as if desiring to simply rip out the source of the pain through unnecessary force. His breaths came out staggered and heavy.

"Tha… That's probably all… for now…" he said quietly to himself as he struggled back to his feet. Pushing himself off the trunk of the tree, he forced his body back through the woods and back to his apartment. _'Why? At first it was only once a week, but ever since I awakened Shinsō, its gotten more and more frequent. If it had something to do with heightened spiritual activity, dad would have said something, warned me, something. I wonder…' _He paused in his step and looked up at the moon peeking out from behind the clouds, casting its sullen light across his face. _'…Could it have something to do with me?'_

He smiled despite himself. He didn't know if the Kyuubi had anything to do with it. From what he knew, the Kyuubi was a being of pure energy. Chakra energy, but energy nonetheless. Could the fox be trying to push its own chakra through him? The seal on his stomach was made to hold it in, but even Naruto knew that all things age and wither. A seal made of chakra thirteen-fourteen years ago was bound to fail at some point.

"Well, no point in worrying about it. Besides, even if I say something, the villagers will just get up in arms abou-"

He couldn't continue.

Unannounced, the worst kind of brain-slashing, skull-cracking, skin-tearing pain screamed inside him. He couldn't move. He couldn't speak. He couldn't even get his jaw to close from its open-hinged position. His eyes felt like they were about to burst, and a small trickle of thick liquid slid slowly down his cheeks. Finally, his body caught up with his brain and his vocal chords gave voice to the feelings welled up inside him.

He screamed. Not a loud shout, or shrill cry, but a sound of the most pure agony, the likes of which he'd never heard before, raced from his throat, echoing about the forest and out of it, traveling into the city, bouncing back and forth from building to building, growing fainter with each rebound, but no less potent. Even those who could only hear it as the trill of some songbird couldn't help but feel their backs stiffen and the hair on the back of their necks rise.

And the worst part about it… as strange as it was, as unnatural as it felt… it seemed all too familiar; far too _human_.

The waves of sound bounced their way back to their progenitor, ringing like tortured metal bells that wailed against his skull. He couldn't think. Everything was pain. His skin, his muscles, his bones… Every layer of his flesh cried out against him, like it was their joy to bring him the most torturous types of agony. It was only when darkness seeped into his vision, despite his eyes being wide open, that the pain ended.

* * *

When he woke up, he felt like he had died. Every part of his body refused to move. Well, not willingly. Every nerve tingled with vague, but stinging reminders of the ordeal he'd just suffered through. _'What… was that…?'_ He didn't get an answer, and he felt cheated. He'd half-way expected one.

He flexed the muscles all over his body, and found, to expecting discomfort, they did not want to move. They were tensed and frozen in place. _'I… I must have strained them… somehow…'_

His eyes wouldn't open. But he felt himself blink lethargically. Why couldn't he see? No, there was light there. Just a speck. He rolled the small spheres around in their sockets, trying to look around him. The darkness slowly crawled away from his vision, only to be replaced by the late-twilight of night. The moon was far from where he'd seen it before he collapsed, and the faint light of the sun was lighting the sky.

It was dawn. He'd been out for several hours. He blinked, his eyelids feeling like they were hooked to five-pound weights. Groaning, he pushed his arms underneath him, driving himself to an upright position.

All pain aside, he felt strange. He looked at his hand, dirtied from the wet earth of early morning ground. But… it wasn't just dirty. Every speck of brown, green and yellow soil and vegetation… every crease and fold of the skin that was his palm-print… every twitch and spasm of the muscle beneath…

He could see it. It was like… like he wasn't even him; like he was looking at someone else's hand. He blinked and felt a moist _something_ fall down his cheek. Brushing off the strange sensation, and his hand of the junk on it, he reached up and wiped his face of the tear. Then his eyes caught something. First of all, it was rare for him to cry for or to anything, be it pain or sadness. More so, it had never happened that he'd cried tears of _blood._ With his other hand, he wiped the other cheek, coming back with the same material on the back of his palm.

_'Is this… blood? I've never heard of this before. Tears of blood?'_

Confused, he cleaned his hands on his shirt and cleaned his eyes of the life-giving liquid. Shaking his head, he looked up to see the sky brightening more and more. The sun was rising.

Grunting with effort, he pulled himself up from the forest floor, noting idly that his body had been lying there long enough to make a nice impression of his unconscious form. His legs tightened, the muscle tissue within tired and protesting their use.

He ignored it and pushed on, his bones creaking with every flat-footed step he made back to his home. But the sensations of his body were negligible compared to what he was seeing with his eyes.

The fine details of the moss on the north side of the trees. The fluttering, confused wings of a butterfly as it woke up from its slumber. The minute form of ants marching in and out of their hard-built hills. The most miniscule flit of a baby bird's head as it looked out of its nest. A rustle of leaves, and the caterpillars on the underside of them, chewing on its breakfast. The impossibly slow opening of early morning, multicolored flower petals.

It was all so… _surreal_. So detailed, it wasn't even his eyes that were seeing them. And the colors, _oh_, the colors! Shades of crimson petals, golden blades of grass, and of rising sun, verdant leaves and needles, cerulean sky and bleached clouds floating amidst its expanse…

It was like nothing he'd ever experienced.

A snap of a twig beneath his feet, and he looked down. As he removed his foot and placed it forward, he could see with almost painful detail the slow rebound of the pressed vegetation and wood as it was removed from the pressure of his step.

His eyes narrowed, and then winced. It hurt to do that. But it didn't stop him from wondering. What was going on with his body, and what had happened during those few hours he'd been out?

It was now officially, "out of hand." He needed to talk to Gin about this, and soon.

The time flew by as he walked, his heightened perception distracting him from the pain in his body that was slowly ebbing away. His shadow became more and more pronounced as the sun rose behind him. It was halfway atop the horizon by the time he made it home.

He climbed in his window the same way he'd climbed out, the frame still open from earlier for easier access upon his, now belated, return.

Getting inside, he looked around. Nothing had changed, per say, but everything was different. Clearer… more defined. He blinked tiredly and ignored the strange sensation. He needed sleep. His muscles ached for slumber. He stepped over to his bed and he fell down on it, falling sleep before he even finished falling.

If only he'd looked in a mirror…

* * *

"Alright. When all's said and done, you five did a great job handling the mission, in spite of the troubles encountered and general outclassing of enemy shinobi. Under the circumstances, though the mission was officially labeled a C-rank, I think I'll allow the record to show you all successfully completed your first A-rank mission! Congratulations! In all honesty we were beginning to worry about you all."

Had Naruto been there, the celebration would have had much more fanfare. But with it only being Gin, Kakashi, Sasuke and Hinata, all of whom had a silent disposition anyway, the news was received without much outward expression. Hinata smiled excitedly, and also proudly at having completed an A-ranked mission. Sasuke gave one of those strange smirks and looked away, though the old Hokage assumed it was in pride. Gin and Kakashi were as unreadable as ever. Gin's expression was a blank slate, and Kakashi had his nose in that book of his.

"Now don't let this go to your heads. From now on I'll be doing more thorough background checks on our clients so we don't have this issue again. So don't think you guys will be getting this much action from C-ranks in the future."

He smiled at them as the nodded affirmably. "Good. Now I think that's everything, so you're free to go!"

The two children nodded and bowed their heads to the old man before leaving in a paced, but excited manner. Kakashi watched them leave from the corner of his eye. When the door had shut behind them, he sighed.

"Sorry about Naruto not being here. Apparently he didn't sleep at all last night."

The old man nodded in acceptance. "I figured as much. The only thing that would keep him away from here is either the severe lack of sleep or ramen."

"In this case, it was th' former. When I went ta get 'im up, 'e wouldn't budge. He's out like a light." Gin explained appologetically.

Hiruzen let out a long sigh and leaned back in his chair, puffing on his pipe lightly. "I'm sorry about how the mission went. You were completely unprepared to face opponents like Zabuza and that boy."

Kakashi waved off his concern. "In the end, we accomplished what was meant to be accomplished, and no one died on our side. And besides, personally, I think it was a good thing for them to get a taste of the true nature of the shinobi world so young. It may be a bit of a disillusionment, but it's better that they have a little experience."

Hiruzen nodded. "I agree completely. However, I also don't think it's a good idea to send fresh genin out on jounin level missions either. This was a fluke, nothing more."

Gin rubbed his neck nervously. "Yeah, well, you'll have a hard time explainin' that to Naru. He'll want a break from heavy missions for a while, but soon I c'n guarantee he'll be back 'n here beggin' fer 'nother."

Sarutobi let out a low, exasperated breath. "Don't remind me…" He looked back at Gin. "By the way, how is his training?"

Gin's smile took on a more sincere look. "Goin' great actually. He learned Shikai durin' the mission, so his power level has increased immensely."

Kakashi eyed his partner curiously. "Shikai… that's the first stage in releasing his undead powers, right?"

"Yup (though ya make it sound like 'e's a zombie er somthin'). Shikai, then Bankai. But I wouldn't expect Bankai from him for a while. Most Shinigami can't even dream of achievin' it, and those who can are one in a million. Naru's got the potential. Now he just needs the time."

"For those who can, how long does it take to reach this, 'Bankai' level?" the Cyclops asked again.

Gin huffed. "Normally? From rookie to Bankai, it can take a hundred years, then ten years of practicing with Bankai before hittin' the its power ceilin'."

Both Kakashi and the Hokage looked at Gin with surprised eyes. "A hundred years? How could he ever expect to reach that stage in this life then?"

Gin waved off their concern. "Well, there _is_ a way ta force yourself to get Bankai. It's not the conventional way though. The process involves ya fighting your own Zanpakutō spirit in a life-er-death duel. You win, you get Bankai. You lose, well…"

He left the comment hang in the air, certain they understood what he meant. "But I wouldn't worry 'bout it too much. It prolly wouldn't even take him a hundred years ta learn it normally. I ain't seen anyone progress so fast in my life, save one fella, only a bit older than 'im."

"So… How long do you figure it'll take him to reach Bankai?" Hiruzen asked curiously.

Gin shrugged. "Can't say fer sure. Naruto's got lots more potential than I did when I was his age. It took me twenty years to learn Bankai."

Kakashi whistled quietly. "So Naruto could reach Bankai in less than twenty years… Doesn't sound bad for how powerful it sounds, though granted that's only because that's most of his early years. The time ratio for you spirits makes that actually a bit slow, right?"

"Yup. Somethin' like that would be unheard of in Soul Society."

"But, knowing Naruto, he'd probably take the shorter method over taking the time to learn it the normal way." Kakashi laughed lightly and cocked his head toward Gin who subtly rolled his eyes, knowing the he was right.

"I don't think _any_ of us would disagree with you." Sarutobi smiled and rubbed his temples wearily. "Oh, since you two are here, I might as well go ahead and mention it." He looked at the two and a knowing grin. "The chunin exams are coming up in a few weeks. Think your team is up to the challenge?"

Kakashi took on a contemplative look, as opposed to Gin's curious expression. "Chunin exams? I've heard a lil' about them. Heard it's easy ta get killed in 'em."

"It is, which is why the whole team must agree to participate, knowing the risks."

Kakashi eyes the old man carefully. "And you're mentioning it because you think they can participate. But I have to wonder if they really are. Sure, the last mission has shown they have what it takes to fight a straight up fight, but the chunin exams are more than just fights. Survival, teamwork, communication, coordination… I want to believe they do, but I can't ignore that little voice in the back of my head." He sighed lightly as he placed his book back in his pocket.

Gin was silent as he listened, but at length, shrugged. "The hell. Why not? If we don't put our confidence in 'em, we'll never be able ta trust 'em."

Kakashi smirked at his colleague. "Speaking from a father's perspective are we?"

The ex-captain scratched the back of his neck and shrugged again innocently. The two others laughed lightly at the silver haired man's expense. When he'd finished with his amusement, Kakashi turned back to the Hokage. "Well, I guess he does have a point. Give us the forms and we'll see if they're up to it."

Hiruzen smiled and raised his hands before offering the necessary documents over. "That's all I can ask. Oh and Gin, we'll talk about, and_ with_ your girlfriend another time, seeing as she's not here. Just so you know. Bring her with you after lunch sometime today. Say, four o'clock."

Gin sheepishly stroked the back of his neck nervously. "H-hai."

* * *

"So Hinata, what did your dad say when he found out you completed an A-rank mission?" Sasuke's voice was laced with pride that they'd achieved something so unheard of. Currently they were walking back from the Hokage tower down the main road that went from the gates straight to the tower.

"Oh, um… I'm pretty sure he was surprised. I don't know what he thought though. He said good job, b-but…"

Sasuke smirked and shoved his hands into his pockets. "If I were Naruto, I think I'd probably say something like, 'he just doesn't know how to express himself' and to 'not let it worry you,' or something."

The young Hyuuga looked to her team mate curiously. That, actually, _did_ sound like something he would say, though, even after the amount of time they'd spent together, she was always surprised by how well Sasuke and Naruto knew each other. Well, Sasuke was easy to figure out, at least to her. He didn't have a whole lot of depth to him, though he couldn't be blamed for it; his whole family was murdered by his brother in cold blood. Something like that was sure to stump someone's social growth.

But she knew Naruto more than she knew Sasuke. And it made her slightly worried that the Uchiha boy knew so much about her and Naruto. In hindsight, she knew it was unfounded. They we're teammates after all. Even someone as uninteresting as Sasuke could decipher the personalities of those he knew.

But since Naruto was absent, for whatever reason, she could only accept his words as likely fact. In reality, she also knew that he was right regardless. Hiashi had never been the most affectionate, nor particularly skilled at showing what affection he did have. He probably just didn't know what to say, or maybe how to say it.

Regardless, she was proud of herself; something that Naruto had taught her to be while they were together the past month.

They walked on aimlessly, waiting for their teachers to catch up to them. They'd probably go to a nice restaurant and grill up some food in celebration.

"So Hinata, any idea why Naruto wasn't there today?" Sasuke asked the Hyuuga. The girl shook her head sadly. "No I don't. W-why ask me though? "

Sasuke smiled at her; a real smile. Not a teasing smirk or playful glance, but an actual humorous smile. Rarely had she ever seen that from Sasuke, and especially not directed at her. "Well, I just naturally assumed you knew everything about Naruto. But if you don't know, then I guess we'll just have to ask Gin-sensei when he gets here."

Hinata didn't know how to respond to his joke (she assumed it was a joke anyway) and so she remained silent.

"Still though, the way he always skips out on team stuff and wanders off on his own... He pisses me off." He looked away, his eyes narrowed at nothing in particular. Immediately though, Hinata was at Naruto's defense.

"Th-that's not fair Sasuke-kun! Naruto always has a g-good reason for whatever he does!"

Sasuke gave her a skeptical glance. "A good reason, or a good excuse? I've never once heard an actual legit _reason_ for why he was gone."

"Give 'em some time. He'll open up ta ya." The sudden voice made the both jump.

They both turned at the sound of Gin's voice and saw him approach with Kakashi beside him. "He don't open up ta everyone ya know."

Sasuke rolled his eyes at the pathetic attempt to defend his adopted son. _'He opened up to you and Hinata easily enough.'_ He wanted to voice it, but that would probably seem hurtful and spiteful. It wasn't the time for that conversation.

"Well, in celebration of a job well done, we're all going out for food!" Kakashi said in a chipper tone before adding in a lower, more somber voice, "and I'll buy this _one_ time..."

The effect was somewhat lost without Naruto there. Sasuke was always mono-expressional, and Hinata, while she looked excited at the announcement, just didn't have the pervading energy to excite everyone around them like Naruto did.

Regardless, despite the lack of visible enthusiasm, he knew for a fact they all loved grilled meat, whether they showed it or not.

"Gin-sensei, i-is Naruto going to join us?" Hinata asked, turning to her sensei hopefully. Gin gave her a sympathetic, unknowing shrug. "Depends on if he gets up 'r not. He wouldn't budge when I tried ta wake 'im up."

Hinata frowned slightly hearing that. She didn't want to celebrate without Naruto being there; that would be leaving him out. But then she had to wonder why he was so tired. Maybe it was just the fact that he'd slept in his own bed for the first time in a month. She hadn't wanted to get up either this morning for the same reason, so she could understand if that was the case.

But still, for Naruto to not show up to a planned group event, like turning in the mission and the obvious celebration afterward… It wasn't like him.

They continued on, Hinata falling silent as they walked. After a few minutes of walking Sasuke turned to his silver haired sensei and addressed him. "Oi, Gin, don't think I didn't notice how you got away with not telling me who you were at the springs." Hinata felt a rosy blush spread across her cheeks at the mention of that night and ahppy smile split her face. She hid both of them.

"The only reason I let it go was because your girlfriend showed up."

Gin gave the Uchiha a slight smirk. "Let it go, ya say? I thought you were too _distracted_ by Rangiku's body ta remember what'cha were sayin'."

Sasuke turned away comically as a small stripe of pink hit his face. "S-shut up!"

Gin and Kakashi laughed at the expense. "Well, I can't say I blame ya. I mean she is a hot piece o' ass aft'r all," he said as he waved his hand dismissively.

"Stop saying it like that! She's not my type at all!" Sasuke yelled at his senior. Gin, ignoring his protests, placed a hand on his shoulder and pulled him over to him. "Oh c'mon, if ya say my girlfriend ain't attractive, I'll get really sad and-"

"-I hope you get pissed then!" the Uchiha cut in, giving his teacher a punch to the ribs. Gin didn't seem to have noticed the strike at all as he let the boy stomp off in humorous indignation.

Hinata would have laughed at the scene, but she caught sight of a golden color in her peripherals. Turning her pale eyes toward it, she saw the form of Naruto tiredly picking his way through the crowd of people cluttering the main street as he made his way toward them.

"Naruto-kun!" she cried as she rushed over to meet him. "You made it!"

Naruto gave a tired nod as he rubbed his eyes. They itched like hell. "Well I couldn't miss the celebration for our first A-rank mission now could I?" She smiled at him, knowing he was sacrificing his sleep to be with the team, and her. But then she saw something in his eyes. Something was different about them.

It was hard to tell with him rubbing one eye and the other one half closed, but from what she could see, his eyes were darker than usual. It might have been the bags under his eyes, but his blue orbs seemed to appear… dimmer. Not only that, but his sclera were also a bit darker. "N-Naruto, is s-something wrong with your eyes?"

He nodded irritably. "Yeah, they keep itching like crazy. It just started this morning too. Gah… it's so annoying!"

Kakashi stepped forward and leaned down slightly, pulling Naruto's hands away from his eyes. "Here, let me check. It may be an infection." Naruto relented in his assault on his vision-giving organs and allowed the man to look at them. Though, it was difficult, with how much they were itching, to keep his eyes open for any amount of time.

"Th-they look a little d-dark to me sensei…" Hinata commented as Kakashi looked on carefully.

"Well, that could mean it's time to get a new boyfriend. They say you can always read a man's intentions by his eyes anyway." He laughed with an eye-smile and looked back to Hinata jokingly. Hinata knew he was kidding, but instinctively made to respond regardless. Only when Naruto gave his teacher a sideways glance of irritation did she hold her tongue.

She saw something. Something that shouldn't be there. "N-Naruto-kun… open your eyes again." Naruto looked at her strangely but rubbed his eyes one last time before resisting as much as he could not to move them. Her hands rose to his cheeks, her index and thumbs on both hands pulling his eyelids open from where they struggled against his will to crease shut.

Now, she might not have been a doctor, nor been particularly skilled in detecting anomalies in the body at first glance, but she knew for a fact that eyes were only supposed to have _one_ ring.

Her eyes widened as she saw them. With hesitant hands, she stepped to the side, keeping his face in her hands, forcing him to face her as she moved, the bright sunlight streaming across his face and lighting up his eyes.

That was the first time she saw them.

Pristine rings circling in hypnotizing loops that rippled out from the pupil, like a stone dropped into water, the waves of black repeated in sequence, emanating all the way around the sphere of his eyes. That was the first thing she noticed; the next thing she noticed wasn't so much a visual observation, but felt more like a shivering sensation.

_Power_. Authority. Command. Pulses of idle strength could be detected within the rippling patterns; each ring shifted independently, both wider and smaller in miniscule measurements as they collected the light from the sun and the depth of his immediate vision. The dull grey color she had seen before gave way to a dim purple, but even as she peered into them in flabbergasted astonishment, her passive, innate, Byakugan-sharp vision could detect slight hints of cerulean blue hidden within the edges of the dark rings and around the small pupil.

"What's wrong… Hinata?"

She blinked, unaware she'd been staring at his eyes with such astonishment that her mouth hung limply and her own eyes stood wide with disbelief. "K-K-Kakashi-sensei! C-c-come look!"

Kakashi, alarmed by the concern in her worried voice, quickly came to her side and looked Naruto straight in the face. He blinked once. Then twice. Then his lone visible eye nearly exploded from his skull in astounded exclamation. "T-this is…!"

Naruto blinked as well, his pupils expanding and shrinking ever so slightly, like normal. Unable to speak, though both concerned and curious about what was going on with his eyes that he didn't know about. The recent bouts of extreme pain he'd been having recently still fresh in his mind, he suddenly felt nervous about what they were seeing.

"What? What is it?" receiving no answer from the, quite literally, stunned Kakashi, he pried the man's hands form his face and untied his headband from around his neck and used it as a vague mirror. What he saw left his mouth wide as well. "What… the hell?"

Sasuke and Gin, completely left out of the loop, simply stood there like a third wheel, unsure of whether to be concerned or wait for an explanation.

Again, Naruto demanded to know what had happened, looking at his one-eyed sensei for an answer. Kakashi could only stutter out, in utter disbelief, "Impossible… Rinnegan?"

"Rinnegan? What the hell's a Rinnegan?" Sasuke asked from his position beside Gin. Kakashi pulled the young Uchiha over, as well as Hinata and had them look into each other's eyes.

"The Byakugan and Sharingan are two of the world's strongest doujutsu, but they are a part of the _Three_ Great Doujutsu. The third… is the Rinnegan."

All four of them felt their hearts stop for only a second before they began beating again. Sasuke's eyes widened. "What? How? I know the Sharingan is passed down through the Uchiha and the Byakugan through the Hyuuga. So how could Naruto have this… Rinnegan?" He said the name as if he were unsure of how to use it. He'd certainly never heard of it before. Sure he'd heard about the Three Great Doujutsu before, but he'd never spared more than a passing neuron for the thought of what that third technique might be.

"Y-Yeah! How the hell can I have something like that? I'm nobody! I'm not from a clan; I'm not even from a noble family!"

Kakashi shook his head almost at a loss for words. "I don't know. Perhaps it has something to do with your recent… awakening," he said referring to Naruto's capability to use Shikai. "Though if that's the case, Gin would know more than I would."

They turned to the man, only to see him shake his head, equally as bewildered (and visibly so) as everyone else. "I ain't got a clue. I've never heard of the Rinnegan before. What's it do?"

Kakashi made to speak, but stopped short. All of them looked at him, waiting with baited breath. "Actually, I don't know. It's one of the rarest doujutsu in the world, and even I've never met someone who'se had it. I honestly have no idea."

Naruto frowned. "Well… I didn't tell anyone, but after I got Shinsō to work, my eyes have started hurting every couple days. Last night I…" he trailed off, looking away; away from anyone's eyes. To him, it was embarrassing to admit pain and suffering. "It was really bad, and I passed out. But when I woke up I went straight home, I swear!"

"Relax Naruto, you're not in trouble or anything," the white haired man placated calmly. "Do you remember anything about when you woke up? Anything out of place?"

Naruto blinked a time or two in thought, but at last shook his head. "I was so tired, I don't really remember much."

"S-So that means e-each of us has a s-special doujutsu of our own." They all turned to Hinata who was trying to get a better look at his eyes. At first she'd looked at them like something was wrong, but now she wanted to look at them knowing they were something special.

They were silent for several seconds, until Sasuke, who'd been stewing in a slight boil of jealousy, began laughing and looked to his silver haired teacher. "Looks like you're the only one without a special set of eyes! Or… _eye_ in Kakashi'scase."

They all looked at Gin, who simply shrugged indifferently. "Well shucks, looks like yer right."

"But still, I can't help but wonder how he got something like that," the Uchiha mumbled as he looked at Naruto, who looked back at him. Truly, his eyes had changed. They seemed almost out of place on his face. "…and what it does."

Naruto looked at the palms of his hands. _'I guess this explains why I can see things so much clearer now.'_ Nothing felt particularly different than usual, not in any other part of his body. So, so far, they knew of only one ability the apparently famous Rinnegan gave; built-in glasses. Kind of a buzz-kill. But he also knew that likely wouldn't be all it could do; it must have been famous for a reason… right?

"Well, this has been quite the exciting little rabbit trail, but how about we get some food, hm? For both a job well done, and now for Naruto's mysterious gift."

They all nodded at the prospect of food. If there was one thing they all loved it was food. _Especially_ when they weren't paying for it. Kakashi could almost hear his wallet crying out to him what lunacy he was getting himself into, but he knew the kids would enjoy it.

Plus, it was a nice change of subject. Truly, the appearance of a Rinnegan, in Naruto of all people, was something of a big deal. Like Sasuke being the last of the Uchiha, and consequently that last man to carry the Sharingan-bearing blood in his body, he was something of an icon; an individual to be trained only by the best. The elite.

The Hyuuga were no different. Both of them _were_ being trained by the best. Kakashi, the only other Sharingan user in Konoha (and thought he wouldn't brag about it) likely the strongest jounin in all of the village. And Gin, the mysterious enigma that everyone not only feared, but _respectfully_ feared. Like one would be respectfully afraid of God. And Gin _was_ a god after all; one of many, but one of them all the same. A God of Death.

Now with the heirs of two prestigious clans on the same team, with two of the strongest and most intelligent teachers in the village training them, that only left Naruto as the underappreciated "third wheel" in the eyes of the world. But with this recent revelation, that would change. He'd never heard of an Uzumaki gaining the Rinnegan, but it probably wouldn't be something they'd brag about either; they were a relatively humble clan after all. And of course he couldn't rule out some effect training in spiritual energy could have had on him. Perhaps extensive reiatsu exposure awaked some underlying gene in his body?

Who knew for sure? But now that it had happened, _however the hell it had happened,_ he would also become an icon. An icon that would hold much sway in political agreements in the future.

Suddenly, Kakashi realized how many worms were going to spill out of the can they'd opened. _'No, the can was opened for us. But by who or what power opened it in the first place?'_

Of course, a question like that couldn't be answered by mere mortal men, and so he filed it away for later contemplation.

Gesturing them all forward, they made their way through the throngs of pedestrians on the main road. It was right after the start of lunch-hour, so it was no doubt going to be busy. Presently though, they arrived to a restaurant and walked in, this being their favorite place to grill steak.

Of course Naruto still preferred ramen over anything else, but Gin had done a good job with diversifying the boy's diet. At least he'd learned to enjoy the meat, which was more than Kakashi could say he'd expected.

Upon walking in, they were met with only a few hateful glares. Normally, The majority of the village would send said glares Naruto's way, but over time, they'd begun to stop, if only because they felt it might be impolite to make it look like they also were glaring at, and subsequently hating as well, his teammates, when they really held no hostility toward the unfortunate children and adults. But if the boy was alone, then they'd glare to their heart's content.

Even so, the three kids were still glared at by association, which Sasuke had simply shrugged off indifferently, and Hinata had learned to ignore them, as Naruto had done. Thankfully though, one look from either jounin sent the offenders glancing away.

Seating themselves at their usual spot, they ordered some chicken and steak slices and waited for them to be brought out. They were only all too eager to eat everything they could manage to stuff down their throats, since Kakashi was buying.

It took a while, but once they'd begun to slow down, Kakashi cleared his throat and got their three genin's attention.

When they all looked at him, their now assorted eyes looking almost comical, he began. "Well, I thought I'd just let you all know, I've nominated you for the chunin exams. I have your passes here… somewhere..." He rummaged around in his pocket until he retrieved three small slips of paper. The three genin looked at himwith astounded eyes. The chunin exams? Already?

"Ah, here we go." He pulled them out and handed one to each of them. "Though, this is just a nomination. You have to decide for yourselves whether you want to participate or not. But it needs to be unanimous. Now, that also means that you don't have to do it too. If you want to wait until you think you're more adequately prepared, that's fine. No one will think any less of you."

Naruto took his and nodded, feeling in his gut he was ready for something like this. Plus, he still had his dream to become Hokage, the only position even close to that of his father's. Becoming chunin was just another step closer to that goal.

Sasuke smirked as he glanced over and saw Naruto's face. Of course the blonde was up to it. And he couldn't let himself look bad in front of the Uzumaki. Besides, he too had a goal, one more self-serving, but no less important to him. Becoming chunin was just another way to grow stronger. It was a means to an end.

But then, they both look to Hinata. Feeling their eyes, she glanced up from her paper to the boys on either side of her. To her surprise, instead of expectant gazes pleading her to agree, she saw only mildly interested looks, as if it would be nothing lost to them if she disagreed. Like they really didn't care about it.

But even so, she wasn't sure about it. They _had_ just come back from an A-rank mission, and though she'd done well on it, even in her own eyes, she didn't know if she was ready for something like the chunin exams. They'd all heard the stories about them; nasty rumors that they all knew were over exaggerated, but no less intimidating. But it was a fact that people _had_ died in them. Was she really prepared for something like that?

But as she sat there, it must have been all the testosterone from the four males around her, because she felt a sense of… excitement at the prospect of competition. That in and of itself told her she needed more girlfriends, but it didn't diminish the compulsion to compete. And even as she thought about it, she realized that the rewards of success would far outweigh the consequences of failure. Very few rookies made chunin, but those who did were often revered as geniuses of their generation, and brought honor to their families. And even if she didn't become chunin, there was always the next exam.

Her confident self-assurance must have exuded out into a facial expression, because she nearly jumped when she felt a hand slide around her back and grip her waist, and another hand from the other side wrap around her shoulders. She came back to reality to see Naruto smiling at her with that foxlike smile of his, arm around her waist, and on the other side, Sasuke with his Uchiha smirk and his arm around her shoulders. It was a strange feeling; their mutual expressions of confidence, not only in themselves, but also in her.

None of them needed to even say a word; they all just grinned at each other and then back to their teachers. Kakashi smiled beneath his mask, his visible eye making a U in the process. "Well alright then." He didn't say it, but he was proud of them.

"In that case, sign on the dotted line and don't lose them. I, uh… kind of got them earlier than I should have, so the actual nomination ceremony (it a jounin thing, so you can't come) isn't for a few more days." He scratched his cheek in absent timidity. "When I do announce it at the meeting, I'll tell you and we'll sort out the details."

The three genin nodded eagerly and ordered another round of meat in celebration. When they'd finally finished thoroughly filling their stomachs and emptying Kakashi's wallet, they got up, stretched, and left, heading back out to enjoy their well-earned day off.

Well, everyone except Gin, who had an imposed appointment to keep with the Hokage. Loking at his watch, it read three. He had an hour. _'Oh well, best ta be prompt.'_

* * *

Sarutobi was pleasantly surprised when he heard knocking on his door. After dealing with Kakashi for so long and his chronic tardiness, it was refreshing to a member of his team arrive on time for something.

"Come in."

The door opened and in came Gin, followed by the woman who was no doubt Rangiku. True to his prediction, she was beautiful, proving that Gin's taste in women had definately rubbed off on Naruto, since Hinata _was_ a beautiful girl for her age. Most boys were just too immature to recognize it.

"Ah, you're early. I half expected you to be here around five."

Gin gave the man a look as if to say, _"do I look like Kakashi? No, I don't. Thank you." _But he remained silent as he approached, Rangiku standing behind and to the left of him, her posture, not that of a lover, but of a subordinate. If he remembered correctly, the man was technically of higher rank than her, even if he wasn't from her division.

"So, you must be Rangiku, hm?" he asked her, seeing as she didn't look like she'd just start talking on her own.

She gave a nod. "Hai. Tenth division vice-captain, Matsumoto Rangiku. It an honor to meet you," she stated matter-of-factly.

Old man Hiruzen seemed to perk up and smiled at her. "Oh, vice-captain? I wouldn't have guessed you were that high up the chain. Just a step below captain if I'm correct."

She blinked in surprise. Honestly, she hadn't expected him to understand her introduction at all, and had planned to use it to start out the explanation of who and what she was. Apparently Gin had already taken care of the second part.

"So tell me about yourself, Matsumoto-san; about you, and about why you're here."

"Actually," she began hesitantly throwing a glance to Gin. "I was kind of wondering about that myself."

* * *

Three days passed. Three days of preparation, each in their own way, for the chunin exams. Sasuke was probably training at the training grounds, Naruto was either off on his own or with Hinata, and she would either be at home preparing or with Naruto. Then there was the possibility of them all preparing together at the training grounds. It wasn't common, but they _did_ get together on their own outside of training sessions. It just wasn't the likeliest occurrence.

Kakashi turned his head to the side to see if Gin would (as if he did any other time) give off any facial hint that he was thinking the same thing. He didn't. At the moment, they were flanked by the numerous jounin teachers and several chunin Academy teachers. In front of them was the Hokage at his desk, puffing lightly on his pipe, the sweet smell of its smoke wafting through the noses of all present. Of course, it was muddled somewhat by the straight cigarette that Asuma was smoking beside him. He was lucky none of them had asthma.

They were all just milling about, talking amongst one another until the meeting officially began. Both he and Gin were silent, as usual. Gin, in all likelihood was quiet because he didn't know anyone there. Sure he may have known _of_ them, or seen them in passing, but he didn't know any of them. Also, no one else knew _him._ And he seemed content to leave it that way.

Every once in a while though, Kakashi would see a cautious glance from one of the other teachers, their eyes examining Gin supposedly unaware form. Not all of their gazes were in interest either; some of them were jealous.

The reason was because it was an amazing rarity for someone outside the village to enter and immediately gain the status of jounin. There were bound to be trust issues between the appointed and the appointee, so it was usually put off until they had proven themselves, or something. But Gin had gotten his rank virtually immediately after he arrived.

"So Kakashi, think your kids'll be up to the challenge?" Asuma asked from the side, eyeing his ally in amusement.

Kakashi let a sigh escape his lips. "Well, they're all extremely strong, now more than ever." The idea that they now had a team comprised of the three most power eye techniques in the world practically assured them victory in the exams. But at the same time, Sasuke had only recently activated his Sharingan and was far from a master, and Naruto had _just_ gained the Rinnegan (however the hell he did that) three days prior. Hinata was by far the most versed in her doujutsu, but she hadn't completely mastered it either, though she was still better than the other two.

_'Hmm, I wonder if they'll get better at them during the exams… Nothing like a little live combat to hone your skills,'_ he thought with a smile.

"Oi Kakashi, you awake over there?"

"Yeah yeah, they're ready. They'll kick your teams butt any day."

Asuma let out a small laugh. "I don't doubt it. Shikmaru's lazy, but smart; Chouji's also kind of lazy, but he's loyal; and Ino's… well…"

"…a Sasuke-obsessed pubescent girl?" Kakashi finished for his friend.

"Haha, yeah, something like that. But she's got her family's jutsu. They all do. That in and of itself is a force to be reckoned with."

"I could say the same thing about mine. Even if you have one more clan member than me." He decided he'd leave Naruto's recent acquirement a secret. No need to give away anything unnecessary.

"Goodness, you two boasting already?"

They both turned to see Kurenai, one of the few female jounin teachers walking up to join them. "You should really learn to keep it to yourselves; saying too much will get your students in trouble if any of the other jounin here you. You're lucky I'm how I am."

Kakashi smirked. "You're also wary. You're very well aware that we could be spreading misinformation knowing others are listening."

"True, but the only good misinformation would be to say they were weak, which they can't be if you're actually going to enter them into the exam."

Asuma and Kakashi chuckled, knowing she was right. After spending so much time with kids and kid-logic, it was nice to speak with someone who was on the same intellectual level. Gin didn't count since, honestly, Kakashi was fairly sure the man was even smarter than him.

"Either way, if you guys are going to talk about your teams, it can't hurt to speak of mine…"

"You got the Inuzuka, Aburame and Haruno girl right? Two clan members and a nobody?" Asuma inquired as he placed a hand on his hip.

"Hey hey, careful, I also have a 'nobody' on my team too," Kakashi cautioned lightly. "Don't go bragging because you have three clan members."

Asuma threw and exasperated look his way. "Who's bragging? I already told you, they have their quirks."

"Yeah I heard. Anyway, how's your team doing Kurenai?"

She let out a sigh and shook her head. "Well, they work well together and all, but they're slow learners, except for Shino I guess. He smart but doesn't talk a lot."

"Sounds like someone I know," Kakashi said, throwing a discreet glance Gin's way. As desired, the man simply crossed is arms and looked away.

Kurenai blinked as a thought rose to the forefront of her mind. "Oh, that's right. Your team has two sensei doesn't it? I'd heard something about that a while ago. How come?"

"Well, Naruto has… 'special needs,' so the Hokage thought it best to place another jounin on our team to help train him separately. Like an extra tutor."

Kurenai cocked her head at him. "That boy? I don't deny he probably would need help, but is that a wise decision? And anyway, who is it?"

Kakashi didn't answer, and as expected he heard the sound of shifting from behind him and Gin stepped closer. "That'd be me."

Asuma and Kurenai both blinked in surprise. Who was he? "And you are?"

Gin's smile didn't falter. He was surprised though; it seemed some jounin knew who he was and others didn't. He would have expected the rumors to spread, but it looks like they didn't include his appearance. They probably thought he was some random chunin.

"Co-sensei o' team seven, Ichimaru Gin. Pleased ta make yer acquaintance."

"Gin, huh? Nice name," Asuma complimented with a smile, despite the way he was smiling was creeping him out. "So how's the training? Kid still as dense as I heard he was in the academy?"

Gin smiled. "Well, he can be, sometimes, in some cases. But th' truth is, he c'n prolly beat the shit outa yer team one V three."

Both jounin smirked, not taking him seriously, but accepting the challenge. Little did they know that Gin wasn't kidding.

"Hehe, that's some confidence you got there. By the way, Kurenai, didn't you say that the Hokage made a last minute switch with your two's teams?" Asuma ask curiously, turning his head to address her.

"Yes he did. I was originally going to have Hyuuga Hinata, and he was going to have Haruna Sakura." She nodded to Kakashi at the last part. "But…"

"Apparently he thought it better to switch the two. Sakura has a talent for genjutsu, but I'd never be able to teach her the things Kurenai could, so we switched," Kakashi finished for her. "In all honesty, it was good decision. I doubt Hinata would have been as strong as she is now under your care, no offence." It was a straight fact; without Naruto's constant influence, he didn't even want to think how much weaker she'd be right now.

"None taken. There would be little I could teach her besides the basics, since all of her techniques would revolve around her clan. How is she doing anyway?"

"Happy as a peach if I say so myself," Gin answered. "She's a quick learner."

The woman nodded approvingly before the Hokage cleared his throat and began the meeting. He waited until everyone was silent before continuing. When he was sure he had everyone's attention, he began.

"Now, first we'll hear from those who are watching over the new genin. Kurenai, Kakashi, Asuma, Gin…" he looked to the four jounin in front of him, the other jounin and chunin standing in a crowd behind them. "…are there any genin you would like to enter into this chunin selection exam? I don't have to tell you, but after a genin has properly completed at least 8 missions, they may take the exam if nominated by their sensei. Of course, completing more than that is the norm. Now, starting with Kakashi and Gin…"

He looked at the two men expectantly, already knowing their likely answer. Behind them, Iruka stood watching, a serious look on his face. _'He shouldn't even need to ask the question; none of them are ready.'_ That was his thinking anyway, and it should have been the thinking of all the jounin in front. Which was why he was completely blindsided by their answered.

"As co-leader of team seven, I, Hatake Kakashi nominate Uchiha Sasuke, Hyuuga Hinata and Uzumaki Naruto for this bi-annual chunin exam." Followed by, "This is an agreed position from both parties, an' as co-leader o' team seven, I also approve."

This was followed by the loud, but ignorable "WHAT?" from Iruka. But they continued on despite him. The Hokage nodded to them both and looked to the next two jounin.

"I, Yuhi Kurenai nominate Inuzuka Kiba, Aburame Shino and Haruno Sakura to take this chunin exam."

"I, Sarutobi Asuma approve of the entering of Yamanaka Ino, Nara Shikamaru and Akimichi Chouji for the exams."

Sarutobi let out a small smile. "All of them… how rare."

"Hold on a second!" They all turned at Iruka's outburst.

"What's wrong Iruka?" the old man asked, though he already knew what it was.

"Hokage-sama, please let me have a word! I may be speaking out of place, but most of those nine were my students at the academy. Of course they are all talented, but it's too early for them to take the exam! They need more experience; I can't understand the jounin's reasoning!"

Kakashi shrugged lightly. "I became a chunin when I was six years younger than Naruto."

"Naruto is different from you!" he shouted back. "You know how the chunin exams are! How dangerous they can be! How can-"

"-Iruka."

He was silenced by the dark tone in Kakashi's voice. "I understand how you feel, but they're no longer your students." He fixed the scarred man with a level stare. "They are now my soldiers."

"While yer concern is in th' right spot, yer reasonin' isn't," Gin interjected as he stepped forward. "To me, it almost sounds like you've got no faith in them at all."

The grinding of Iruka's teeth was nearly audible, but he knew they were right. They weren't his students any longer, and he could understand how he might have not been completely supportive of them, but at the same time, he could just as easily say that they were placing a bit _too much_ faith in them. Overestimation could be just as deadly as underestimation.

So where was the happy medium?

"Very well then, you may leave to speak with your teams any time." Sarutobi said, ending the argument. "Now let's move on to last year's rookie-team jounin…"

Kakashi turned and left, Gin following beside him. Asuma shared a look with Kurenai, who simply closed her eyes in resignation.

* * *

"Pheew… I hadn't expected you to be so tough Hinata, even after all that _'special training'_ you were getting during the Wave mission."

Hinata panted happily at the Uchiha's praise. Though she wondered what he meant by his emphasis on "special training." She got her answer when he sent her a sly smirk, consequently sending her into a deep blush. "S-Sasuke…!"

He chuckled but waved off her embarrassment as he walked over to one of the three training posts and leaned against it. "Still, that move you used earlier… the fast one. What was that?"

Hinata paused as she contemplated answering it. Was it really her place to explain it? She looked to Naruto who was meditating atop the post to Sasuke's right. He must have been deep in it, since he didn't even flinch under her gaze. Usually he knew if she needed something and would respond. The only times he wouldn't was when he was deep in meditation.

"W-well, it's called Shunpō. T-think of shunshin and its p-pretty close."

Sasuke looked at her for a long moment, almost studying her as he contemplated her words. "Teach it to me."

She blinked. Her? Train him? Was she even allowed to? She knew from using her Byakugan Sasuke had a fair amount of innate reiatsu, but he had no idea how to harness it. "I-I… I don't know if I c-can do that…"

Sasuke seemed to frown at this, glaring at her sharply. "If you know it, then you likely learned it from Naruto, and him from Ichimaru. That leaves me being the only one on this team doesn't know it."

"Kakashi-sensei d-doesn't know it either."

"He also doesn't _need_ to. I saw something when you used it; something I could barely catch, even with my Sharingan. Like chakra, but different… more encompassing. You need that power to use it right? So how do I use that power, firstly, and how do I use that technique?"

She shrunk slightly under his gaze, but it wasn't because he seemed verbally invasive; he had every right to know. To him, it was probably like he was being left out of an exclusive club that everyone else could join but him.

"O…O-Ok… I'll teach you."

Sasuke smiled and pushed off the post to move closer. She sighed as he stood across from her. She didn't feel comfortable with this at all. "Ok, f-first of all, you need to gather your reiryoku to your feet-"

"Reiryoku?"

She hesitated as she realized he still didn't know what that was. "Oh… w-well, it's-"

"-Spiritual energy. The same kind used by me and tou-san."

They both turned as Naruto hopped off the post, Hinata in relief and Sasuke in curiosity.

"How do use it?" Sasuke asked, his interest growing by the second. Truth be told, he'd long been able to see his two teammates use the power, either passively or in combat training, and even see and copy their movements with his Sharingan. But he couldn't do it the same way they did. Obviously he was missing something.

"Yes. Unlike chakra, which uses both physical and spiritual energy, reiryoku eliminates the physical aspect and focuses only on spiritual energy. With that as a basis, it's fairly easy to separate the two. It'll take some practice, but you'll have to do it before we can teach the move to you." Naruto's face was impassive, and Hinata couldn't tell whether he was happy to teach Sasuke, or unhappy that she'd put him in a position where he had to reveal something about himself.

Personally, for the last three days, she'd begun to get the impression Naruto was being much more serious than usual. She attributed it to his new eyes and the way they looked from a distance. However, when she got close, she could still see the warmth they held for her, and they sparkled playfully in the light.

Even so, sometimes…

_'…sometimes Naruto looks scary.'_ Of course there was nothing to be scared of, and she knew it, but it didn't stop her from unconsciously flinching whenever he looked at her suddenly. And she knew it hurt Naruto to see it. It hurt him to know it was his new power; his new "gift." He would look away sadly, as if to say he was sorry, even though he himself didn't know what he was sorry for.

"…just keep doing that, and when the time comes, we'll teach it to you." She zoned back into what Naruto was saying only to catch the tail end of his explanation. No doubt it was the same on he'd given her.

Naruto gave her a short look before turning away. Now _that_ definitely wasn't like him.

"N-Naruto-kun…!" She reached out to him only for him to Shunpō away. Thankfully she'd seen where he was heading and dashed after him.

Sasuke simply watched them both go enviously. _'Hmph, show offs.'_

* * *

"Naruto, wait!" she called after him as they traveled further away from the training grounds. He finally came to a stop on the ground in the middle of a large field, the verdant grass rustling in the wind and the warm golden sun shining on them both. She landed behind him and jogged up to him worriedly. Had she offended him?

"Naruto-kun, what's wrong?"

He turned to face her, doing so only for a second before looking away. "…Nothing." He offered nothing more.

But she knew better, and she approached even closer, ending right behind him, not a foot from his back. "I-if it's about Sasuke, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have used one of those techniques around him…"

She looked down sorrowfully. She'd obviously hurt him somehow.

"…No."

She looked up at him. He let out a deep sigh. "…You didn't do anything wrong. It's just…" he looked away again, not wanting to say it.

But she knew he needed to; for his own sake if not for hers. She raised her hands and placed them on his sides, resting her forehead on his back, her pale eyes closed as she spoke. "Please… what's wrong?"

She didn't want any hurt to pass between them, especially not when they could do without. If they ever became separated because of something she'd said or done, she'd never forgive herself, and do something drastic that she probably wouldn't have time to regret. It wasn't exaggeration; it was a fact. She couldn't live without him, and she _wouldn't_ live without him.

Slowly, she felt the tension in his muscles relax slightly and he sighed again. "It's not your fault Hinata. I… It's just… "

She gripped his sides tighter and pressed her brow into him more firmly. She was there for him, no matter the problem.

"…For so long I've always considered this power to be exclusive; it made me feel special. Different… but in a good way. I didn't mind you learning it because, well, it's you. But Sasuke… I don't know. I always thought it gave me a leg up on him. If he learns it too then…"

He fell silent, and she remained so for several seconds after, trying to decipher his feelings. "Do… do you feel… jealous?"

She felt him stiffen in her arms. Her guess hit true. "Yess…" he hissed out, like poison. "Yes, I do."

She remained silent, hoping he would continue. "I'm stronger than Sasuke right now. And I guess… I guess I've taken pride in that. I know that if he learns our techniques he'll be stronger than me and that-"

He suddenly fell silent. As if he were about to utter some unspeakable evil, or had just connected the dots to some unspeakable truth. His fists clenched hard and his bottom lip was clamped between his teeth. "It-"

She could feel his body trembling in her grasp, and she couldn't stop herself from wrapping her arms about his waist, pulling him close and refusing to let go.

"-It scares me!" She felt her eyes widen as the words left his mouth. Naruto? _Scared?_ "I know it's stupid, but I'm scared that if he becomes stronger than me, I'll never be able to recover the distance!"

Ahh, so that was it. Naruto was scared of falling behind Sasuke. "Naruto, even if Sasuke does get stronger than you, he's our friend, and more like a brother to both of us than anyone could ever hope to be. We should be happy for him and encourage him, not be afraid of him because of his strength."

She felt the boy in her arms slowly calm down, the trembling subsiding, for the most part. "And even if he does become more powerful, you'll never be far behind. Just like how I chase you, you'd chase him forever until you caught him."

"I know." She blinked. He did? "That's the problem."

He turned in her arms, her face lifting to look into his. Their eyes met; his subtly cerulean rings gazing deep into her lavender orbs. "If I keep chasing him, I'll leave you behind. I don't want to leave you behind, ever."

She didn't feel her eyes widen, or her face freeze in surprise. She didn't feel her arms suddenly loosen around his waist in shock. She didn't feel the rebound of loving emotion surge through her. She didn't feel herself leap into his embrace. She didn't feel herself assuring him that he'd never lose her. She didn't feel her throat swell and her eyes brim with tears. And she most certainly didn't feel the worry she'd felt before.

Her soul was fixed on an emotion much greater than all of that.

She didn't know how long they stayed like that, him mumbling apologies and her whispering words of love and affection. She didn't know when there embrace of comfort turned into an embrace of much, _much_ more.

But she knew when it ended. And she knew something she hadn't before.

He was just as focused on holding onto her as she was on holding on to him. To her, he was as vulnerable as a child. His worries laid bare, his emotions revealed…

And she knew neither of them would ever be able to even consider them separating.

It was out of the question.

It wasn't even a question.

Sasuke was well into his first lesson when the two love-birds returned. What surprised him was he _felt_ them long before he actually saw them. Whatever this power was… this… reiryoku, provided a sense of awareness beyond anything he'd ever felt before. What's more, he could feel two familiar presences approaching form the village. Could he be sensing Gin and Kakashi? _'Is this how they feel all the time?'_

Sure enough, after the two had returned, hand in hand (a noted rarity within the village's walls, he'd learned), they were followed minutes after by their two jounin teachers. They all looked at them expectantly.

"Well?" Sasuke asked excitedly, half-knowing their answer.

Kakashi smirked under his mask. "Tomorrow, Academy, four pm. Room 301." He waved them off. "Don't be late now~"

They all smiled back, committing the time and place to memory. "So we're accepted?" Naruto asked excitedly.

"Yup! Nominated you three just a few minutes ago. Apparently the other rookie teams are also participating."

"So we'll be fighting our classmates. Kind of makes me anxious."

Naruto looked askance at his Uchiha teammate curiously. "Getting' scared Sasuke? That's not like you."

"Hmph, anxious with _excitement_, idiot. Nothing scares _me._" He smirked and looked away. Naruto simply smiled and let him be.

"W-we'll do our best, for sure!" Hinata said resolutely as she looked between her too teammates, the prospect of being able to prove her strength bringing a smile to her face. True, she didn't like fighting, but that didn't mean she'd let her friends, or even more importantly, _herself_ down by not. She was a shinobi after all. And she knew both Naruto and Sasuke; they competed over everything, and would no doubt hurt themselves trying to exceed their own limits.

And when they got hurt, she'd definitely be there to protect them both.

"Oh, by the way Naruto, since we want to keep your Rinnegan a secret, we got something special for you." Kakashi fished around in his pocket for a small box and held it out to the blonde.

"What's this?" he asked, taking the box from his hand.

"Contacts. They'll hide yer eyes 'til ya decide ta take em off."

Naruto looked at the box strangely. "But, I can't really do anything with it yet, and even if I could, I doubt many people know what the Rinnegan is."

"Eh, you'd be surprised. But it's always best to be prepared anyway. Who knows, you might be glad you have 'em."

Naruto looked at the box skeptically before opening it and seeing a couple sets of contact cases. Taking one case out and handing the box to the Hyuuga beside him, he opened it and placed the contacts in his eyes, blinking away the feeling of a foreign object touching his ringed lenses. "They're kinda itchy."

"That'll go away as you get used to them. So, give us a look."

Naruto blinked his eyes open and looked at the grey haired man. Kakashi smiled. "Looks good! But perhaps Hinata should be the judge of that, since she knows your eyes best."

Hinata felt her cheeks redden ever so slightly, but she couldn't deny the truth. She probably _did_ know his eyes better than anyone, because she spent whatever time she could just gazing into them. Naruto turned to her, eyes wide as he tried to give her the best view he could offer.

After a few seconds, she nodded approvingly. "They're perfect. They don't look _exactly_ the same, but I'm… probably the only one who'd notice." She looked away shyly at the end and smiled.

"Well alright then." Kakashi gave an eye-smile and nodded. "Remember, this is a team exam; you enter it as a team, and you leave it as a team. Anything less than success from you three is unacceptable. Understood?"

The three looked at him and nodded in unison. "Hai!"

"Wha's that? Can't hear ya."

"HAI!" The determination in their eyes was palpable.

"Hmhm, that's more like it."

* * *

**A/N: And there we are! Twnety-eight Microsoft Word pages of filler! BUt, we did get to see Naruto obtain the Rinnegan, so YAY! Honestly that was the biggest thing I wanted to do with this chapter, so most of the rest was structured around what I knew needed to happen and what I wanted to happen. And don't worry if you think I'm just pulling ideasout of mallet-space; I have a plan, and i never enact a plan without backstory and facts to back it up. In other wors, I already have planned out HOW Naruto got the Rinnegan, and NO he won't be getting any more particularly awesome power boosts in the near future. Bankai won't happen untill AFTER the Time-Skip.**

**After all, I can't progress the characters too fast. That would be unrealistic XP **

**Also, like I said at the beginning of the chapter, I know you feel cheated because I inclued Rangiku so little in this chapter, but I WILL elaborate on the meeting later, though I don't think it was very important anyway besides a meet-and-greet session.**

**I have to confess though, because of my lack of motivation to finish this chapter, the Naru-Hina moments might have seemed distant, and Sasuke's interaction with them seem equally as cold. I didn't MEAN for it to be like that, so sorry if it did. It had nothing to do with the character progression in that sense.**

**Anyway, I hope you all liked it and are looking forward to the next one where we'll begin the chunin exam! Yippie-ki-ay! Now this one I'm looking forward to writing, what with the genin interactions, the _new_ Team Seven (the "EYE" team, lol), more Naru-Hina moments, aaaand all that wonderfull stuff. :D DUnno if it'll bleed into the Forest of Death section or not, and I doubt it'll hit the pre-Stage Three part, but you never know with me.**

**Leave your trash in the nearest receptical, get up and give your eyes a break, and leave your comments on the way out! :)**

**Later all!**


	12. Chapter 12: New Experience

**A/N: Well this one got done... fairly fast, but I'm not realy happy with it. It seems choppy and not particularly organized, with decent parts thrown in heree and there. But it seems almost as if I added them just to have them there. THe enxt few chapters wont be like that, but this is another one of those filler...-ish chapters. Its the beginning of the Chunin exas, but it just seems to unimportant to me that I don't particularly like it. Oh well, your the readers; you tell me. And NO this chapter had NOT been intended to be coincidental with the fact that exams are usually being take around this time of year! But as an afterthought, it's kind of funny, hehe!**

**Thanks to** NorthSouthGorem, James D. Fawkes **(relation?)**, pyromania101, reven228, Orchamus, Nightblader1021, fennikkusso, asredwer, cmcwiki, SpeeDemon, Chewie Cookies, Lich Kings True Demon, kishinokurobi, Skelo, RElarax, OBSERVER01, RisingSolstice, jacohuff, alchemists19, CracktheSkye, Leaf Ranger, Drake G. Reaper **(relation?)**, Hypothetical Spiritual Entity, Fangking2, **and **Shisora **for reviewing the last chapter, even as boring as I though it was. **

**But moving on, 'K? Hope you like it! Not a whole lot of fluff in this chapter. In fact, very little propper NaruHina at all :( to my great regret. But at the same time, I couldn't find any decent place to put it, so... Well, you get the idea. **

**Enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

**Chapter 12: New Experience**

The village was abuzz. But not with activity, but with energy. Every citizen knew what the day marked; the Chunin Exams.

The event was held bi-annually since the foundation of all Hidden villages. Recently they'd begun to be held as a multi-national sport, villages offering to host and invite prospective shinobi to participate.

Genin versus genin in an all-out struggle to rank up.

Team seven could feel their blood shoot through their veins. Naruto, his new contacts centered in his eyes, couldn't help but feel parts of his body tingle with excitement, his hands sometimes clenching and unclenching in excited anxiety. Sasuke visibly seemed more pleasant; smiling eagerly and acting more personable with both Naruto and Hinata.

Speaking of whom, the Hyuuga was uncharacteristically anticipating the start of the exams. She shared Naruto's goal; to protect her comrades and to shine like a star in the upcoming free-for-all. She honestly couldn't wait to get started.

Gin and Kakashi hadn't been seen from since the day before, but none of them were worried. They knew they were prepared. Sasuke seemed smug about something, though what it was he wouldn't share. Naruto likewise seemed to exude confidence and Hinata noticed that ever since seeing his Rinnegan the day earlier, his eyes moved less, as if he could see everything he'd previously been on the lookout for perfectly fine now. Did the Rinnegan give its bearer increased acuteness in vision? She assumed so; it was an _eye_ technique after all; it wouldn't do to allow its user bad vision.

Even though no one else would notice, she, knowing what lay beneath, could see the rings of his eyes pulse below the contacts that hid them every time she looked at him. They still hadn't found out anything about his eyes. Going to the library hadn't brought any immediate aide. All they found were vague references about legends. For instance, it was said that in times when the world was in disorder, a person was sent down from the heavens to become either a "God of Creation" who would calm the world, or a "Destroyer" who would reduce everything to nothing.

Needless to say Naruto didn't feel like either. However, he was tickled by the prospect of becoming a god. "Well, if I was a god, I guess we'd have a pretty nice house, huh?" He'd looked at her when he said it. She'd blushed, but assumed he was right in that sense.

She also was interested in the legend. If Naruto was a god, wouldn't that make her a goddess? She blushed again at the concept, the idea secretly entertaining her.

Her and Naruto. Ruling all of creation!

It was a funny, if not ego-bloating picture to say the least. She giggled to herself as they walked. Today, she felt none of the usual hesitation she usually did. Even she noticed her stutter almost vanish as she spoke with her two teammates.

Aside from the palpable excitement, she didn't know why today was so different than any other. Even if she were this excited on another day, she still would have stuttered a bit here or there. But as she walked between the two boys, and she inched closer to Naruto, she realized; she was happy.

Today was a happy day for her. Not just because she was taking the chunin exam with her best friend and favorite boy, but because her morning had started out so well.

Thinking back, she realized her father was mostly to be blamed for the early good-mood kickoff.

She'd woken up, fresh and ready for the day. When she'd gone out of her room, bag packed and ninja gear adorned, she'd bumped into her father.

"Where do you think you're going Hinata?" He'd asked both curiously and scrutinizing as he examined her.

"T-the chunin exams are t-today. Our t-team is entering them and I was g-going to go an meet them. I-Is that… alright?"

To her surprise, Hiashi blinked unexpectedly.

"The chunin exams?" He paused for a few seconds, as if unsure of what to say. "Are you sure this isn't some leftover bravado from your mission? The chunin exams are grueling to say the least. Also, why didn't you speak with me earlier? I don't like being surprised."

Immediately, she bowed her head low in apology. "F-forgive me father. I didn't think you would care if I entered or not." It was true. She doubted he'd lose much sleep if she never came back from it, so why bother telling him?

She kept her head where it was and waited for his silence to end. What would she do if he said no? On second thought, why _would _he say no?

_'Oh, right… because I'm weak…'_ Her expression softened sadly on her downcast face.

Eventually, Hiashi spoke. "Do you think you're ready?"

Hinata lifted her head in surprise, looking at the Hyuuga head curiously. "W-what do you mean?" Didn't he usually decide if she was ready or not?

"I mean what I said. Do you think you're ready?"

Hinata was hesitant to answer him. Was this some sort of test? One where if she said yes it meant she wasn't? But… she had to answer honestly. Straight from her heart, she nodded to him. "Yes I do. With Naruto and Sasuke with me, I… I know we can win!"

It came out a bit more forceful than she'd intended, but she kept her eyes on her father, her expression one of pleading desire. If she didn't participate, then neither could they.

"Then go."

She blinked. What?

His mouth twitched in a strange, almost unnatural way that looked completely foreign on him. He was smiling… just a bit. "You don't want to be late, do you?"

Hinata felt her face light up and she nodded excitedly. "H-hai!"

And she rushed off.

It was something she didn't understand. Hiashi never smiled, and most certainly not at her. He didn't even smile at Hanabi, even when she did something incredible for her age. So it couldn't be because she was entering the chunin exams as a rookie genin like she'd first thought. It must have been something else.

But she filed it away for later. Her father was, somehow, happy for her and had given her his blessing to enter the exam. That was enough for now.

"So, we all prepped and ready to go?" Naruto asked the two on his right.

Both looked at him and nodded. Sasuke smirked humorously. "Of course. You two have the power of love right? That should be able to get us at least part way through the exam."

Naruto choked on his spit as laughter roared from his throat. Hinata had half expected him to blush and yell back an accusation or something.

"Hahahahaha! What's up with you Sasuke? I thought you didn't believe in love."

Sasuke threw a sideways glance at his partner. "If you're implying that I don't believe in love because I'm single, your sadly mistaken. I just don't have any use for love right now. That's all."

"Haha, yeah. Sure; ok." Naruto didn't believe one word from his mouth, but then, he rarely did. Sasuke was Sasuke, and Naruto knew him pretty well, if he did say so himself.

Hinata however, smiled at her Uchiha "brother" and smiled gently. "Surely there's _someone_ out there for you. I hope you don't think you can run from love forever."

Sasuke quirked an eyebrow at her curiously. "I said 'right now' didn't I? I didn't say I'd never find it. I'm just ignoring it for now."

Hinata frowned slightly at him but was brought back to look at Naruto when he said, "Hehe, I think Sasuke's just jealous of us Hina-chan," with a smirk on his face and his hands folded behind his head.

Now it was Sasuke's turn to laugh as he looked at Naruto. "You wish, loser."

Naruto smirked and looked away, off to the rapidly enlarging academy where the chunin exam would begin. Hinata giggled cheerily at the two. They were exactly like brothers, both to each other, and to her. They were like one big mismatched family. Like any brothers, they shared a sort of rivalry, but they also cared about her, Sasuke in a more distant, but no less present, way.

They'd make it through the exams. She was sure of it.

As they approached the building, they could see the loitering forms of numerous other people, no doubt genin from theirs and other villages. As they approached, they received either nasty looks or complete ignorance from the milling shinobi. Initial intimidation went a long way to those who were unused to it. But to team seven, who'd endured even Zabuza's powerful assaults… the looks they were throwing were absolutely negligible.

They pushed past the numerous genin that stood between them and made their way through the familiar academy towards the third floor, as instructed. They hadn't gone far when they noticed a large crowd up ahead.

"What's going on up there?" Naruto asked indifferently, as if he weren't really interested.

"Probably a fight. Sounds like it." Sasuke looked equally as uninterested, and Hinata was inclined to not get involved with whatever it was they were doing.

The blonde rolled his eyes. "Tch, what a waste of energy…"

They approached, the sounds becoming more and more audible as they got closer. Pushing their way through the throng, they saw a pair of older Leaf genin blocking the path to a pair of double doors. Above them was a sign that read "301"; the room they were looking for.

As they weaved, and sometimes had to shove their way to the front, they saw the pair of genin beating up on another Leaf genin with black bowl-cut hair, and a girl with two buns in her brown hair. They managed to catch onto the tail end of their conversation. "…-chunins often become captains of military teams. The death of a comrade, the failure of the mission… that's all the captain's responsibility. Yet you kids think you can pass?"

The brown hair girl got up from where she'd been backhanded in the face and gave an almost pitiable look to the two in front of her.

The genin talking simply smirked. "Heh, we're just thinning out those who will fail anyway. What's wrong with that?"

"Well, I can't disagree with you. However…"

The two genin looked up to see the blonde haired kid stalk forward, flanked by a black haired boy and an almost blue haired girl.

"…You're gonna let us pass."

Naruto gave them a hard stare. Hinata narrowed her eyes as well. "And this genjutsu you have up; remove it."

Her comment drew questioning inquiries from the spectators.

"What's she talking about?" asked one.

"No idea," said another.

"Ah…" the genin on the right said, speaking for the first time since their seeing him. "…so you noticed."

Of course they noticed. They'd grown up at the academy, and stopping here, with the idea that it was the third floor just felt wrong. Delving into that "wrong" feeling revealed they'd only walked up one flight of stairs. It was only the second floor.

Sasuke smirked at the two. "Do you 'vets' always do unnecessary things like this? I hope it's not chronic among all of you." He gave an excitedly dark look their way. "This exam won't be much fun if it is."

The two smirked back in return, and the signpost seemed to waver for a moment before the three reverted back to a two. "Not bad," the first genin said. "…but all you did was see through it!" He rushed forward, rotating on his hands as his foot lashed out at Sasuke. The Uchiha dropped to a squat and sent his own leg flying out below his opponent's and smashing into his chest.

It happened so fast that most genin didn't even see what happened. The veteran grunted as he tumbled back toward the door.

"Nice one Sasuke." Naruto complimented, his hands in his pockets.

Sasuke looked back as if he'd just been insulted. "Pft, I've gotten used to seeing you two move so much, it was like he wasn't moving at all."

"Amazing Sasuke-kun! And without even using your Sharingan!" Hinata said with a smile to her compatriot.

Sasuke merely waved her comment off, as if he'd suddenly gained a sense of humility. Of course, in front of Naruto he was always competing. With Hinata, he didn't need to be like that.

Naruto looked back to the two genin, the first getting up from where he'd fallen. "Stay down, unless you want to end this exam before it even starts."

The genin looked like he was about to argue, but then thought better of it. He growled, but didn't get up from his spot.

Naruto smiled victoriously and looked to the other two genin who'd been beat up before. "You two ok?" he asked as he held a hand out to the green-clad one.

"Fine, thanks," he said as he accepted the hand up. As he stood, he was joined by the brown haired girl who, by body language alone, was apparently part of his team. "Thanks for that," she said with a smile.

Naruto smiled widely. "Our pleasure."

Hinata smiled at her two fellow doujutsu users. They were off to a great start. Sure they may have attracted a little attention, if the looks they were getting were any indication, but nonetheless, it was a great start.

But when she heard _his _voice come from behind her, her spine straightened and she felt her skin crawl.

"It seems you have quite the team, Hinata-_sama_."

She whirled to see him, standing just behind her with those cold, uncaring eyes. "N-Neji-san." She couldn't help the stutter; it just slipped out. How had she missed him? Had he hidden himself somewhere in the crowd?

The atmosphere changed instantly as she felt the presence of two boys beside her. Immediately she knew they were Naruto and Sasuke. Both of them could feel the hostility from those impassive eyes.

Neji let a smirk grace his face. "And quite loyal it seems. That's good; you'll need them to keep you safe in the exams. Just don't hold them down, or you'll never pass."

In another tone, one might have thought he was genuinely concerned for her safety, but the harshness that exited his lips with every word left a bitter dislike for the boy in Naruto's gut.

"I'd watch what I say if I were you," he warned to the Hyuuga. It would take a complete idiot not to realize they were related.

"But you're not, Uzumaki Naruto."

The Jinchuuriki's eyes narrowed as his name was identified.

"Oh yes, I know who you are. Word gets around better than one would think."

Naruto, not to be intimidated, shrugged off the attempted intimidation. "Then you'd obviously know that you should stay away from me… during the exam I mean." Regardless of whether he was a Hyuuga or not, he wasn't going to be polite to him during the exam just because he was a family member of Hinata's.

Neji gave him a cold glare full of amusement. "Would I now? That's a first. Usually it's others who should stay away from me. Those who don't, tend to learn quickly."

Naruto placed his left hand on Shinsō, which rested on the same hip. "Well then, Mr. Hyuuga, teach me somethin'." He drew the blade out so that just a sliver of the gleaming steel reflected the florescent light from the ceiling.

Neji smirked, superiority oozing from him in waves. "Gladly."

Before either of them could move, Neji was shielded from moving by his two teammates, the girl and boy from before.

Naruto however, was grabbed from behind and thrown to the floor, Sasuke placing him and in a _very_ secure submission hold. "Cool it Uzumaki."

Neji looked from one to the other. "TenTen, Lee. What are you doing?"

Lee, the green clad one looked at his partner fiercely. "We all agreed before didn't we? We weren't going to draw attention to ourselves. Fighting right now would do the exact opposite."

"Come on Neji, don't waste your energy on them. We need to be ready for the exams when they start," the girl, TenTen, said in a placating voice.

The boy hesitated for a few seconds, his teammates fearing he would ignore them. But at last he closed his eyes and snorted. "Fine. Let's go."

As he turned to leave he heard the blonde's laughter from behind. "Hahaha! Runnin' from me when I've got both my hands tied behind my back? Pussy," he taunted with a smile, even with Sasuke's foot pressing his head into the floor.

Neji glowered at him. "I'd advise against baseless boasts of strength. You might call yourself strong against the others here, but the king of garbage is still garbage."

Naruto's smirk didn't falter, so he turned away dismissively.

"Hey, you, with the white eyes."

Neji turned again, this time to Sasuke's voice. "Your name was Neji right?" He didn't wait for a response before he continued. "You should probably know, Naruto doesn't take kindly to those who insult Hinata. I know that from experience. When the exams start, I'd advise you to watch your back."

Neji shook his head disbelievingly. "For having her as a teammate, I'm surprised you don't know." He sharpened his gaze and peered into the onyx eyes of the boy. "There's nothing my eyes don't see."

Sasuke smirked, almost evilly. "Curious that you'd say that to me, an Uchiha." He blinked, and where once had been pitch black orbs were now crimson wheels. More surprising, to Hinata anyway, was the appearance of two tomoe in each eye. _'In in both eyes? When did he…?'_

"I wonder how you're Byakugan will stand against these Sharingan…"

Neji almost imperceptibly flinched. Regardless of who they were, a doujutsu user was a force to be reckoned with, Hinata aside, and he doubted the Uchiha boy would be as pathetic as her. If what he'd heard was correct, this boy's brother had slaughtered his own clan solely on his own. He couldn't take a chance with the brother of a man like that.

"Perhaps we'll have the chance to see." And he turned, leaving them without another word, TenTen and Lee following, the girl giving a slightly apologetic look to team seven.

Naruto glowered at the Hyuuga's back, mumbling as he tapped Sasuke's arm to let him up. "…I wonder how your Byakugan will stand up to my _Rinnegan_, prick." Regardless of how little he knew of how to use his newfound Kekkei Genkai, it made him feel better saying it. And who knew? Maybe he'd learn something during the exam.

Sasuke smirked down at Naruto as he got off of him. "You know, I'd kind of hoped you'd take the advantage of that opening I gave you. I would have loved to see you knock his lights out."

Naruto smirked back as he was helped up. "Hehe, well I didn't know if fighting before the exam was allowed or not, so I thought I should probably hold off. Thanks for the thought consideration though."

He'd felt it when Sasuke had loosened his grapple just enough for Naruto to get out, if he wanted to. But if he was going to fight someone who insulted Hinata, he wanted to make sure they wouldn't be interrupted.

He sent a reassuring look Hinata's way. "Don't worry Hina-chan, I'll kick his ass for ya, hehe!" Hinata felt her shoulders relax and she smiled thankfully at the boy. _'Thank you… Naruto-kun.'_

With that, they began to move away toward the third floor, the spectators following suit, since there was nothing more to see. However, they all had their eyes now firmly set on the backs of team seven. They were definitely dangerous.

"So, what's the guys' deal? He doesn't seem to like you very much." Sasuke knew enough about Hinata's condition to know that she wasn't expressly loved by her Hyuuga family, but he'd never heard of them going out of their way to expressly insult her for _any_ particular reason.

Hinata looked away sadly, as if it were only the _fact_ that he hated her that saddened her. "I don't know… He's never liked me, ever since I was little. I don't know why. He hates the main house very much, and me most of all…"

Naruto growled in the back of his throat like an animal. "That pisses me off even more; he picks on you because you're the 'weakest' of the main house. He's nothin' but a bully!"

Hinata didn't say anymore to them as they walked. She knew why he hated her, even if she didn't understand why he hated _her_ of all the main branch. If anyone, he should hate the elders, and maybe her father. _'You shouldn't blame a child for the sins of her father…'_ she thought solemnly.

After they ascended the next flight of stairs, they led the small pack of miscellaneous genin up to the double doors. With a kick from both boys, they opened with a slam, and they got their first glimpse of the real challengers of the chunin exams.

The room was full of chunin hopefuls, all of them strewn about the room, sitting on tables, benches, some lying down on them or each other, but each and every one of them was looking in their direction. More specifically, team seven's direction. Naruto cocked his head to the side and Sasuke cracked his head, closing his eyes in the process. Hinata hardened her gaze and stood firmly between them, refusing to give her team a weak appearance.

"Hehe, you can stare all you like, but you're not getting' any of this," Naruto said flexing his muscles as if he thought they we're gay.

Some looked away, while others still continued to stare, ignoring the blonde. Sasuke nearly snorted when he heard him say it too. He'd been on the receiving end of many of Naruto's gay jokes, since he and Kakashi were the only two on the team who weren't in a relationship of any kind. Of course he never took any of it seriously, but it was nice when it wasn't him.

"SASUKE-KUUUN~!"

Instantly Sasuke felt his blood run cold, and he felt the urge to slink away and hide. He dared to look to his right and he saw, beyond the blonde haired boy was a blonde haired girl, vying for first in a race with a pink haired girl to either glomp, or straight out tackle him.

"Awww shit."

Naruto burst out laughing as Sasuke pinched the bridge of his nose so hard the cartilage cracked. "Naruto, Hinata, I need a biiig favor."

Naruto smiled at Hinata. "Wuddia say? Wanna help our best friend out?"

Hinata looked into Naruto's eyes and saw the glint within that guaranteed this wasn't going to end well. But despite that, she nodded and the both waited for the screaming duo to get just a little bit closer. "Wait for it… now!"

In unison, they reached behind them and each grabbed a surprised genin and threw them into the two girls' path.

They tried to stop, but they were moving too fast; they collided with a bang and went rolling over the floor in random directions.

Sasuke let out a breath he didn't know he was holding and rubbed the back of his neck. "I owe you two big time. Thanks for that."

Naruto smiled brightly. "Our pleasure!" Hinata gave an acknowledging nod in response, smiling just as brightly. Sasuke may have been Sasuke, but even he needed help with his crazed fan-girls.

_'Ah, the curse of being handsome…'_ Naruto thought. Of course, that would place him in the not-handsome category since he didn't have fan-girls. _'What am I saying? I've got my fan-girl!'_ He looked to his left at Hinata. She was the only fan-girl he needed.

About this time, Ino and Sakura, the two girls who'd nearly rammed into Sasuke, got up screaming at Naruto for being a jerk.

"Damnit Naruto! What the hell was that for? You could have hurt someone!" Sakura said with a fist raised. Ino got up from all fours and almost wanted to slap the fellow blonde.

"Yeah! What did we ever do to you?"

Naruto blinked at them and remained silent for several seconds, as if he were actually searching his mind for a reason. At last he laughed and rubbed the back of his neck. "Haha! Guess you're right!"

Sakura growled and stood up, charging at him prepared to pummel him in the face. The jerk!

Naruto blinked when her fist disappeared inches from his face, where he'd been completely ready to knock it away.

To his surprise, the girl in pink was thrown out of the way by an indigo colored blur. The interception sent Sakura flying away and to the ground with a loud _thud_.

"Don't you dare touch Naruto-kun! Try it and see what happens!" Hinata shouted as she stood in front of the Jinchuuriki, standing in a loose Hyuuga stance between him and the girl now on the ground. Naruto felt his heart flutter as he realized she was protecting him.

Somehow, that made him feel… happy.

"W-wow…" was all he could say as he looked at Hinata's back. But from his surprised stupor, he converted to excited surprise. "That was totally awesome! Not to mention super-cool!" Naruto said as he looked at his girlfriend's face from over her shoulder. Hinata hesitated when she heard his words, and she felt her chest swell with pride at his praise.

"I-it was n-nothing, really," she said shyly as she looked away, but with a smile on her face.

"Hey! Don't think that you can have Sasuke all to yourself just because you're on his team!" Ino shouted at Hinata as she got up from the ground.

Hinata blinked. "But… I just said-"

"Don't lie! You knocked us away because you want him for yourself!"

She made to defend herself when Naruto placed a hand on her shoulder and shook his head. "They're obsessed; they can't imagine someone _not_ liking Sasuke. Leave 'em be."

Thankfully his words weren't heard by either Ino (who obviously hadn't seen Hinata slam Sakura way) or Sakura, who was now standing and rubbing her right arm from where she'd been hit, a tender bruise appearing on her bicep.

"Oi oi! Who's beating up on my team over here?" They all turned to see the rest of team eight approach, that being Kiba plus Akamaru and Shino. Shino was stoic as ever, and Akamaru lay perched on Kiba's head, content to watch from there. Kiba glowered at team seven as he approached.

Naruto smiled apologetically. "Sorry 'bout that Kiba. She tried to glomp me and-"

"SHUT UP LIAR!"

"-Hinata got all protective of me and… well, what can I say, I can't control her." He shrugged helplessly and Kiba simply shook his head. "I should've known it would be something like that." He looked at Hinata and Naruto, thinking about his words just a second ago. "Protective huh? She's definitely got the eyes for it. I wouldn't have guessed you two would be a couple though; that's new."

Naruto chuckled. "Yeah, sometimes I wake up and think the same thing. I guess I'm just lucky."

Kiba rubbed his nose with the back of his index finger nonchalantly. "Yeah, well we'll see how lucky you are once the exam starts." He turned toward Hinata and eyed her strangely. She fidgeted under his gaze slightly, unsure how she should interpret it. At last he spoke. "You're Hyuuga Hinata right? I heard you were going to be on our team before the Hokage had you switched with Sakura. Gotta admit, if I thought I could get away with it, I'd ask you out on a date or something."

Hinata blinked. Was that a compliment? "T-thank you…?"

Kiba waved it off. "Personally, I'd choose you over her anyway," he said pointing from her to Sakura. "Pink stands out a bit too much. Red's ok, but not pink. Plus my dog likes you. Right, Akamaru?"

He looked up to where the small puppy lay on his head. The dog gave a shrill bark and wagged its tail happily as it looked at Hinata.

Sakura walked over and planted her fists on her hips as she leaned in with a face of anger and looked Kiba directly. "What do you mean 'too much pink?' I was born this way you mut! You'd better learn to deal with it!"

Kiba gave her an annoyed look. "We're a scouting team, we're not supposed to be noticed. What exactly do you blend in with?"

Sakura was about to respond, dragging their argument on even further amidst the group of fellow classmates, who simply stood by watching in amusement, when a tired voice garbled out from behind team eight.

"Mendokse… you all are too loud."

They all turned their heads as Shikamaru and Chouji rounded the group and came to the front. Chouji was, predictably, eating out of a bag of barbeque chips that Naruto suddenly felt a craving for.

"Oh, you guys are here too? Looks like all of the Rookie Nine are participating in the exam, sweet!" Kiba said as he stepped aside for the Nara child.

"Of course we are, you should have known when you saw me, dummy," Ino said as she rubbed her back where she'd fallen on it. "And what gives you two? What gives you the right to throw random people at us like human Frogger?"

Naruto chuckled innocently. "Sorry, I'm so good at the game, I never get hit, and I've always wanted to know what would happen when I did."

The two random genin who had been thrown stood up, gaining their balance. "Oh wonderful, we've been compared to frogs. Hey, don't think you can just bully people around!"

Naruto raised his hands defensively. "Sorry, sorry. No harm intended. Just trying to save my friend's ass is all."

Ino and Sakura both turned to give glares to the poor blonde, as if to say, "And what exactly did he need saving _from_, might I ask?"

Their angry looks made Naruto cringe as he sidestepped around Hinata, placing her in front of him and holding her as a human shield, which she honestly didn't mind being; any girl who thought they could hurt Naruto would have to go through her first. She gave them both a hard stare, which they returned indignantly, as if they thought she didn't have a right to stand between them and their prey.

But, thankfully, placating hands from their teammates pulled them away from the white eyed girl, avoiding the inevitable catfight that would have ensued, much to the disappointment of certain spectators.

"C'mon you two, don't fight before the exam. It's going to be tough enough as it is," Shikamaru groaned out as he pulled Ino back by the back of her shirt.

"Hey, you guys should be more quiet." They all turned at the sound of the new voice.

It led them to a purple-clad older boy who'd just walked in. He had silver hair, not unlike Gin's, Naruto noted, and wore a tan sash about his waist with an equipment pouch on his left hip. He wore circular glasses that sat just below his Konoha hitai-ate.

"You guys are rookies, just out of the academy right? You're all screaming like schoolgirls… geez. This isn't a picnic." He pushed his glasses up a bit higher as he admonished them.

"And you are…?" Sasuke eyed him carefully.

"Kabuto, but more importantly, look behind you." He pointed to something behind them, prompting them all to turn to see it. It was a trio of genin with hair that slicked over to the right of their heads. Their headbands were marked with four small vertical lines. They were looking right at them.

"Those guys are from Amegakure; they've got short tempers. Everyone's nervous about the exam and will bite your head off at the smallest offense. Now quiet down before you make a scene."

The Nine seemed to sense the hostility in the room and did as advised.

"Well, I can't blame you clueless rookies. You remind me of how I used to be, long a go."

"So how many exams have you taken?" Naruto asked, eyeing him. "It sounds like you're pretty knowledgeable on these exams."

"That I am, because it's my _seventh_ exam. This is my fourth year here."

Sasuke blinked, surprised. "That's a lot of times for someone who supposedly knows a lot about the exam."

"Well, knowing something isn't the same as being good at it. A king can control his armies efficiently, but may not be very good at fighting himself. Understand?"

Sasuke gave a slow nod.

Kabuto let out an exhausted sigh. "Ah you rookies are so cute. I guess I should probably be the helpful senior and help you guys out a little." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a large deck of orange cards.

"What are those?" Ino asked, craning her neck to see over his shoulder.

"Ninshiki Kādo. Cards that have data burned onto them with chakra. I have four years' worth of info here; over two-hundred cards." He took a card from the top of the deck and spun it over in front of him, everyone crowding around to see. "Without my chakra, they just look like blank cards. However, as soon as I pour my chakra into them…"

The card on the ground lit up with colors depicting the map of the world, with all the different counties being a different color. On each country's hidden village location, a three-dimentional bar rose from the card like a hologram.

"What's this card show?" Sakura asked curiously as she bent over to see.

"This is the number of those taking the exam and the breakdown of what country they're from." Kabuto explained as he pointed to the number at the top of the card. "As you can see, one-hundred and fifty-three genin are participating in this exam, and each one of them is just as determined to pass as you." He gave them all a look to see how they took it. "You see why I told you to keep quiet? Make too many enemies and you're guaranteed to get killed."

Chouji gulped audibly as he met the boy's eyes. "W-we're gonna get eaten for sure…!"

Shikamaru rubbed the bridge of his nose tiredly. "The chunin exam… What a pain."

"Do you have any cards with info on individuals?" Sasuke asked inquiringly.

"Of course," Kabuto replied, showing him a few cards with data on them. "The info on all the exam's participants isn't perfect, but I do have them. I even have some with your guys' information. I can show you just about anyone you want."

"Hyuuga Neji."

They all turned to see Naruto with an uncharacteristically serious face, his eyes narrowed, and Hinata could swear she saw his hidden Rinnegan pulse visibly. Only she, with her innately powerful eyes could probably even notice the Rinnegan beneath his contacts. Of course, she also knew they were there to be noticed. Most didn't.

Naruto crossed his arms, waiting for a response. "Hyuuga Neji huh? No problem, I've got him right here." He opened the deck in the middle and paged through them until he pulled out a specific card. He looked at it for a second before nodding to himself and placing it down on the ground. Instantly data appeared on it, crawling across the card as it displayed known skills on a pentagonal graph, along with a mug-shot and completed mission data.

"Twenty D-rank missions and twelve C-ranks. Teammates are Rock Lee and TenTen. Specializes in his clan's own jutsu and martial arts. None of his team are particularly adept at ninjutsu, and seem to use a large variety of taijutsu."

Naruto narrowed his eyes. "That's it?"

Kabuto shrugged. "I told you, it's not perfect. Since it's my first time seeing him in the exams, I haven't had much chance to gather intel." He looked to the others next. "Anyone else you want me to show you?"

Kiba placed a hand to his chin and thought for a second. "Yeah. Hyuuga Hinata and Haruno Sakura, for starters."

Both girls looked at him incredulously. "W-what do you think you're doing Kiba? Why would you want to look up your own teammate? Hinata I can understand, but me?"

Kiba just shoved his hands into his jacket's pockets. "Relax will you? I just want to see how you compare to our would-have-been teammate." He eyed Hinata with a look. Kabuto quirked an eyebrow. "Interesting picks. Coming right up!" Shuffling the deck, after placing Neji's card back into it, he pulled out two cards and looked at them for a moment. "Here they are then."

Kiba bent down to look at them carefully as Kabuto helpfully narrated for those unable to see. "Haruno Sakura's stats are a bit low compared to the average, but shows skill in genjutsu. Below average ninjutsu and taijutsu. Fourteen D-rank rank missions. I don't think I need to name off her teammates to you," he said with a grin as he moved onto the second card.

"Hyuuga Hinata; taijutsu specialist, like Neji she prefers her clan's own special techniques. Byakugan user, also like Neji. Sixteen D-rank missions and a… wow, an _A-rank_ mission!" Everyone's eyes opened wide when they heard that. They all looked to team seven with something akin to a mix of jealousy and astonishment.

"Byakugan user? What's that?" Shino asked, even as Ino was about to ask the same thing, breaking the slight awe toward the three doujutsu users.

Kabuto smirked and pushed his glasses up on his face slightly. "I doubt it would be very appreciated if I gave out information like that. You are all still enemies in this exam. No reason to give either team any undue advantage."

He slid the cards back into the deck and looked around him. "I think that's enough for now. But I think you get the idea; this exam is full of outstanding ninja from all nations. Leaf, Sand, Rain, Grass, Waterfall, Sound… all of them have sent representatives to take part. Well, the sound village is still small, and relatively new, so there isn't much information on them." He stood up and placed the deck back in his pocket.

Naruto smirked. "So, that means that they're all elite genin from numerous countries?"

Kabuto gave a nod, to which Sasuke closed his eyes, smiling. _'This is going to be fun.'_

"It's to be expected, since-" the veteran genin broke off as a blur from the crowd of examinees shot straight for him. A quick dodge to the right avoided the two lethal kunai that whizzed past his ear. But before he could react, a second figure appeared not a foot in front of him; a heavily bandaged face that was completely hidden, save one eye.

_'These are Hidden Sound…'_ he realized as the figure drew his right arm back and swung it forward in a wide, but controlled, haymaker. Kabuto easily leaned back, dodging the attack as it whiffed right by his nose. _'Hmph.'_ He smirked victoriously as he regained his balanced, only to jump when cracks split along his glasses as soon as he'd recovered.

He smiled as he pulled the frames from his face, examining the damage as the transparent pieces fell to the ground. _'I see, so it's that kind of an attack…'_

Naruto narrowed his eyes carefully. _'I saw it perfectly; he dodged the attack. So why did his glasses suddenly…?'_

He didn't get a chance to finish his thought as Kabuto abruptly doubled over and spewed whatever lunch he'd eaten onto the tile floor. "K-Kabuto-san!" Hinata reached out to steady the silver haired boy as he recovered from the apparent attack. Everyone in the room possible looked over to the scuffle with interest.

In front of the gathered Leaf genin stood a trio of teens. The one thing they had in common was the smoke-grey and black camouflage scarfs around their necks along with similarly textured pants, and the headbands on their brows, each adorned with a single eighth note in the center.

Kabuto nodded a thanks to Hinata as he wiped his mouth with the back of his glove. "I'm… I'm fine."

"How pathetic. I expected better from a four-year veteran."

They turned to see the middle sound-nin, the one with the bandaged face, staring down at them. "Write this down in your cards," said the second boy on the team, who wore a metal headband that came down to frame his face. "The three Hidden Sound nins will definitely become chunin."

A small figure in the crowd watched on, unimpressed by the scene in front of him. _'Pointless.'_

Naruto scowled at the three Sound genin and stepped forward to confront them when a large explosion from the front of the class room drew all's attention away from the inevitable fight.

"Quiet down you worthless bastards!"

The smoke cleared revealing no less than twenty older-looking Konoha ninja, all standing behind the imposing figure of large man wearing a black trench coat. He wore a black bandana headband and his face bore two prominent scars; one short one going from the middle of his right check down and back until it became invisible, and another one that ran from beneath his bandana and down diagonally across his left cheek and over his mouth before disappearing beneath his chin.

"Thanks for waiting. I'm Morino Ibiki, the examiner of this part of the selection exams." He looked up slightly and pointed a gloved finger toward the back of the room. "Hey, you Sound guys! Stop doing as you please before the exams. Do you want me to fail you already?"

The bandaged one turned and spoke again. "I apologize. This is our first time, so we're very excited. I guess we got a bit carried away." He was obviously the team leader, if his acting as the spokesperson said anything.

Ibiki smirked. "Hmph. This is probably a good time to say this; there will be no fighting without the permission of an examiner. Even if permission is granted, killing your opponent will not be tolerated." He fixed them all with a hard stare. "Those pigs who disobey me with be failed immediately. Do I make myself clear?"

The boy next to the bandaged guy sneered confidently. "Heh, this exam's sounding pretty easy."

"We will now start the first test of the chunin exams. Instead of your current seating arrangements…" Ibiki started as he reached into his coat. "You will pick one of these tabs and sit in the seat assigned to you." He held the tabs high, revealing them to be numbered. "Then, we'll hand out the exams."

Naruto stiffened when he saw one of the examiners holding a piece of paper. In that instant, Naruto's vocabulary failed him completely and the only word he could think of that could accurately describe his feelings escaped his lips.

"…Fuck."

* * *

"Good, now that you're all seated, I'll go over the rules. This first test has many important guidelines, so be sure to remember them. There will be no questions either, so don't bother asking."

Naruto smirked almost victoriously.

He, Sasuke and Hinata had managed to accurately gauge where they should stand in line to get tabs so they could sit next to each other. It took quite a bit of math work, but Hinata had managed to figure out a good spot after looking at three desk numbers next to each other with her Byakugan. Unfortunately, Sasuke had miscalculated his spot in line by one person and ended up a bit further back. But, fortunately for Naruto, he and Hinata had gotten it perfectly, and so sat next to each other. Naruto wasn't very book smart, and he'd be the first to admit that, but if Hinata was next to him, he'd be able to pass no problem.

"First rule: everyone starts off with ten points. The test is made up of ten questions and each one is worth one point each. This test uses a subtraction system; you answer all questions correctly, you keep your points. But, say if you miss three questions, you will lose three points, leaving you with seven."

It was a simple concept, and many a ninja was nodding their head in understanding.

"Second rule: this is a team test. Whether you pass or not will be determined by the combined score of your teammates. So each team will see how many points they can hold onto from their initial sum of thirty. The reason for that is in the third rule: anyone caught by the testing officers doing underhand activities, namely cheating, will have two points subtracted for each offence. So there'll be some who lose all their points and asked to leave."

He turned from where he finished writing the rules up on the chalk board, pocketing the chalk piece. "Realize that the pathetic ones that get caught cheating will be destroying themselves. As shinobi trying to achieve the title of chunin, be proud ninja."

He smiled at them, sort of, and prepared to tell them to begin when something clicked in his brain. "Oh right, one last rule…"

Everyone looked at him intently, listening carefully for the final instruction.

"Those that lose all their initial points during the test and those that down answer any questions correctly will be failed along with their two teammates."

Instantly a sense of apprehension rolled over the crowd of genin throughout the room.

"The exam will last one hour. Begin!"

The word was followed either by the eager scribbling or thoughtful strokes of pencils on paper. On the left side of the room, in front of the windows that lined only that wall, sat the numerous officers who'd appeared with Ibiki, each one with a clipboard in hand, no doubt to make sure anyone who cheated would be marked down and kept track of.

Naruto looked over his test, examining the questions carefully. The first question read, _'Line B (as seen in figure one-point-one-A) is the greatest distance a shinobi can throw his shuriken from a tree of seven meters. For enemies who appear in the circumference of the shuriken's range, explain the attack options using this distance. Show your work.'_

He narrowed his eyes in frustration. _'Solution; use Shinsō and kill the bastard, no work needed. I hate math…'_ He moved on to the next one, even as he heard Hinata's pencil tapping on the wooden surface below her test as she wrote.

_'Looks Hinata's going ahead and doing the ones she knows. But how do I answer them? One of us fails and everyone does, so I have to at least answer one question correctly.'_ But as he looked over the remaining questions, he realized they were all impossible for him. _'Shiiiit…'_

Sasuke read the last question and smirked, laying down his pencil. "Heh…" He folded his hands in front of him and rested his head on them. _'I see. I can't answer a single one of these. Plus, what's with question ten?'_ He looked at it again. It read:

THIS QUESTION WILL BE REVEALED FOURTY-FIVE MINUTES AFTER THE TEST BEGINS. LISTEN TO THE EXAMINER CLOSELY BEFORE ANSWERING.

A relatively simple explanation, but it was an incalculable variable in the very structured test. In a way, it kind of killed the serious mood. It sounded almost as if question ten would be some super question that either made or broke a team's score. _'Most of us are probably incapable of actually answering these questions on our own, though it looks like Hinata's making headway.'_ He looked to his left and saw the officers looking along their assigned rows with scrutinizing gazes. _'What's with them? It's like they assume we'll cheat… the bastards.'_

Then, a light bulb clicked on in the Uchiha's head. Suddenly, it all made sense.

_'Wait a second! This isn't a test to measure our intelligence, it's a test to see how well we can gather information!'_ He grit his teeth as the realization dawned on him, remember what the examiner had said about being proud ninja. _'He didn't mean don't cheat, he just meant cheat like a shinobi; in a way we won't be caught!'_

He looked toward the front of the room, where Naruto's blonde hair was easily noticeable, next to Hinata's unique indigo hair. _'Notice this Naruto! The smart guys will begin moving soon.'_

Even as he spoke, all over the room, numerous shinobi were using every option available to collect and gather information.

Shino's bugs buzzed here and there, mistakenly assumed to be common houseflies. Akamaru looked this way and that, unsuspectingly able to freely look at the tests of those nearby and relay them to Kiba. Elsewhere, the same red head who'd scoffed at the avoided fight earlier, placed his hand on the edge of the desk and small grains of sand trickled down his arm.

Nearby, a black clad individual looked over and eyed the boy. _'Looks like Gaara's making his move.'_

Time passed by and Naruto waited until Hinata slowed down. He'd also figured out the purpose of the test, but couldn't think of an efficient way to cheat without communicating with Hinata. Finally he wrote down a message on the corner of the test.

She looked over hesitantly when she saw him twist his wrist idly.

It was a symbol in their private code, meaning pay attention. Her eyes noticed his finger twitch below his arm, and she looked down to see his message. She looked back up and gave a nod.

Turning back to her test, she closed her eyes before opening them again, revealing her lavender Byakugan, chakra surging through her veins.

_'Hehe, maybe I can put these contacts to use,'_ he thought with a mental grin. Hinata had begun to write again, having found someone with the answers to copy.

He reached up and brought his right index and middle finger to his eyes. Making sure not to blink, he touched the two contacts, holding them in place as he rotated his eyes to the right, the let go. _'Now whenever I look over to copy her answers it'll look like I'm looking at my own paper, hehehe.'_ With that, he began copying her answers.

Further back, Sasuke had hit the goldmine with the fellow two seats in front of him. Using his Sharingan, he copied the boy's movements exactly, and words became to form on his test sheet. _'Heh, too easy.'_

Throughout this time, the officers had been marking down and calling out those who'd been caught cheating. More than a few teams had been removed from the room. One had asked to go to the bathroom, and surprisingly had to be put in handcuffs just so he could go.

_'Geez, these exams sure are tight on security, for a test that promotes cheating that is.'_ Sasuke looked around, seeing that nearly seventy genin had already been removed. Looking ahead, he could see, to his relief, Naruto scribbling answers down on his test. _'Good, he found a way… Now just don't get caught, idiot.'_

Naruto smiled as he placed the final period on the page. _'Now all that's left is the tenth question…'_ He readjusted his contacts correctly, blinking a few times to get used to his vision again.

A few minutes later, when no one else seemed to be caught cheating (since they'd stopped calling out entrant's numbers), the big man in front spoke up. "Ok, we will now begin the tenth question."

Everyone looked up from their tests and towards Ibiki. "Now before we get to it, I'd like to go over the added rules for this question."

He was interrupted as the door opened and the boy who'd gone to the bathroom returned, followed by the guard who had escorted him.

"Ah, nice timing. Was your doll-playing beneficial?" It was an odd question, Naruto noted, but it must have had some meaning to the boy since his face suddenly turned darker.

"Anyway, sit down."

The boy did so.

"Now, I'll explain…"

* * *

Kakashi sat on the couch of the small lounge he and a few other jounin had chosen to use while they waited out the exam, with a bored look on his face. "Huuu… It sure is boring without my team. Guess the missions will have to wait."

"Don't worry, you'll be busy again soon," Asuma said across from him. It was just him, Kurenai and Kakashi at the moment.

"Why do you say that?" the Cyclops asked.

"I heard the examiner for the first test is Morino Ibiki."

Kakashi felt a drop of sweat drip from his forehead. "Not that sadist…" He sighed and rested his chin his hand. _'This test might be a bit much for them after all.'_

"Sadist?" Kurenai asked curiously.

"Oh, you're a new jounin, so you probably don't know. He's the head of the Torture and Interrogation division."

Kurenai blinked, almost not believing what she'd just heard. What would a man like that be doing overseeing an exam?

"…Lead assassination squad, torture and interrogation captain, special jounin Morino Ibiki." He took a drag on his cigarette before continuing. "Well, there may not be any physical torture while taking a test, they must be feeling a mental suffering brought on by his interrogation skills."

Kurenai was silent for several seconds before speaking again, changing the subject rather abruptly. "Where did Ichimaru-san go off to?"

Kakashi blinked and looked to his right. Gin had been there just a few minutes ago. _'Good question.'_ But before he could comment, the man in question came into view, holding a cup of steaming ramen.

"Mhh mneeh (oh hey). *Gulp,* Just wanted a lil somethin' to snack on."

Kakashi looked from him, to the cup, and then back to him. "I wonder of Naruto's picking up your bad habits."

Gin waved off his worry. "Nah nah, actually I think I might be pickin' up on some of his," he said as he slurped up a string of noodles.

"So Gin, was it? What kind of skills do you specialize in?" Asuma asked as he leaned back in his seat.

Gin swallowed and pointed his chopsticks at the bearded man. "First o' all, those things are gonna kill ya. Can't tell ya how many people I know who've died from those things."

Asuma looked at his cigarette briefly before shrugging and continuing to smoke on it.

"And as far as skills go, I guess ya could say I'm a taijutsu specialist with supplemental ninjutsu capabilities. Or somthin'…" He slurped up some more noodles.

"Oh? Taijutsu huh? You and Guy would probably get along, a little. What kind of supplemental ninjutsu do you use?"

"My own special kind. If I told ya, I'd have to kill ya."

Asuma laughed. "Fair enough, fair enough."

"Do you know any genjutsu?" Kurenai asked, causing Gin to look at her. Neither had spoken much to each other, simply because she wasn't sure what to think of him, and he didn't seem too interested in others or what they thought of him.

"Maybe a few," he said ambiguously. Kakashi, knowing why he couldn't be specific, simply gave Kurenai a short look that told her there was more he wasn't telling her, and that she shouldn't delve too deeply. She hesitantly gave a nod, but couldn't stop a sense of curiosity grow in the back of her mind. Everyone had secrets, and she'd heard that Gin had been instated to jounin almost immediately upon arrival to Konoha.

Never in her time had she heard of such an event taking place. Defections were a rare occurrence, but when they did happen, it was a give-me, give-you barter. How they were allowed to continue living here was directly proportionate to what they brought with them. Gin must have had something very special to have convinced the Hokage to promote him so high in one go.

In a way it kind of made her jealous. She, who'd spent numerous years training up to become a jounin, was outdone by someone who'd appeared out of nowhere. But then, she couldn't be prejudiced; she understood that there were just _those_ kinds of people out there; those with power and skill beyond what she could probably dream of. While she probably would never truly understand the magnitude of how well that fit the third division captain, she at least felt a small taste of it.

_'Maybe I'll get to see him in action sometime,'_ she thought with a certain amount of anxiety.

They were quiet for a bit until a looming shadow fell over Gin as he finished his ramen. He paused mid-sip to identify the intruder, only to find probably the most unexpected character standing before him. "Gin, we need to talk."

Gin adopted an innocent face and rubbed the back of his neck. "Well if it ain't Hiashi-san, how can I help ya?"

"Come with me, if you will." Hiashi didn't offer any indication of his mood, but it must have been something important if he was calling him away privately. Gin gave a grave nod and slurped up the last of his broth and got up, tossing the empty cup in a nearby trashcan as Hiashi led the way out.

They walked for several minutes, Gin simply following as he'd been asked. Finally they came to stop on a public balcony that oversaw a large plaza. No one else was on the balcony.

"So what'd ya drag me all the way out here for? Must be something important."

Hiashi didn't speak immediately. "Gin, I want you to be completely honest with me. Speak only truth and I promise I won't hold it against you or Naruto."

Gin had a small sense of dread in his chest. He probably already knew what this conversation would be about.

"How far have you been pushing those two together? And please, be serious." The man's pale eyes bore into Gin's closed eyes. Both of their faces were unreadable to each other.

"…How much do ya know?" Gin prodded carefully.

"I'd like to hear it from you first."

Gin paused for a second before asking again, "Who exactly am I talkin' to right now? Hyuuga Hiashi, Head of the Hyuga clan, or Hyuuga Hiashi, the father?"

Hiashi almost let out a chuckle. "Neither. This is Hyuuga Hiashi the friend."

Gin pondered his answer. Whether he wanted to or not, the man did deserve to know, though he couldn't exactly say this was a big issue. Yet.

"Well, from what I've seen, they like holdin' hands… a lot. Maybe a few hugs here 'n' there. Can't say I've seen much else."

"I'm not asking what you've _seen_, I'm asking what you _know._"

Gin looked at the man with sudden coldness. His eyes narrowed dangerously, and he stepped a few steps closer. "First of all, you can drop yer transformation."

Hiashi recoiled in surprised. "What?"

Gin stepped closer again. "I know for a fact Hiashi's never once considered us friends, and if he did, he'd never admit it. So, who sent you? The Hyuga council? Prob'bly. No one else would care."

"Hiashi" became suddenly serious. "Ichimaru-san, you should know the elders have and _will_ be watching you closely. They will spare no expense in protecting the honor of the Hyuuga clan. If _anything _happens between those two, we will be duty-bound to deal with it _our_ way."

Gin's grin faltered, and morphed into a disappointed scowl. "Oh really…?"

The next thing the disguised Hyuuga saw was the world falling away from him as he was sent flying high into the sky, Gin's left hand clutched around his neck as they almost literally _flew_ from the plaza and across the village.

_'Ugh…! What… the hell…?'_

Slowly, the world began to rise back up to meet him, or rather, he fell back to meet _it._ He landed harshly against an abandoned building. He groaned in pain as his transformation vanished. Gin landed in front of him.

He didn't let him recover. "So, now that we're _really _alone, away from your tail's pryin' eyes, yer gonna tell me exactly what _your_ way of dealing 'it' is. Or…"

He drew Shinsō from her sheath and held it lightly at his side. "…well, thing's ain't gonna be pretty." The Hyuuga was still rubbing his throat when Gin approached him.

"And I ain't takin' no for an answer."

* * *

"First for this tenth question, you must decide whether you will take it or not." Ibiki continued.

"What happens if we choose not to?" asked a blonde girl further back with her hair up in four small ponytails.

"In that case, you fail! Along with both of your teammates!" Instantly a firestorm erupted in the classroom, genin stood up and yelled, berating and questioning loudly as to the reason of such a stupid rule, assuring him that of course they would take the tenth question.

"SILENCE!"

His booming voice shut them up almost instantaneously. "That said, the final rule…" He looked up to see their faces, and as expected they had the same face that said _more rules? Come on!_ but he ignored them. "…if you choose to take it, and get it wrong, you will lose the right to take the exam again!"

Kiba stood up and yelled accusingly at the scarred man. "What kind of stupid rule is that? There are others here who have taken the exam before us!"

The big man simply laughed quietly. "You guys are unlucky. This year, I _am_ the rules." He fixed them all with a level stare. "But I'm giving you a way out; leave now and try again next year."

Almost immediately after that was said, the guy to Naruto's left began to fidget. He eyed him curiously. _'No way… he's actually going to give up? After coming this far?'_ He looked to his right and eyed Hinata as well. She, to his surprise, and also in a way, expectation, she was looking at him_. _Her look was one of concern; not for herself but for him.

_'Of course… she would worry about me over all. But I guess…'_ he gave her a confident smile. _'…I'm also to blame for that.'_ His hand inched over to hers and gave it a tight squeeze. _'They say that with dogs, you can channel your emotions through the leash. The same thing works with humans too. You can calm someone touch just by touching them.'_

Her hand felt damp, but not cold, which was good. If her hands were cold, that would mean she wasn't just nervous, but also scared. She wasn't scared, and if she was, odds were it wasn't for herself.

"Do you trust me, Hinata?" he asked her quietly. He saw her flinch back in response, like he'd offended her.

"O-of course I do!"

He smirked. "Then trust me."

She recoiled just a tad, as if he'd hit her. But then, her face softened and she closed her eyes, letting out a breath. _'He's right. If I say I trust him, I should start showing it.'_ She looked back at him, her eyes growing a bit stronger than a second ago.

"Alright," she replied, Naruto giving a nod in approval. "And Naruto…" she left off the title, gaining his attention immediately. "…I _do_ trust you."

Naruto smirked when he saw the look in her eyes. Strong, unyielding, resolute. It was a look she was beginning to use more and more, and if Naruto had anything to say about it, would be the look she'd use for the rest of her life.

"Good."

He turned back to the examiner and realized that the guy next to him had decided to leave, since he was already at the door. _'I've got to stop zoning like that…'_ he thought with a sweat-drop expression.

Ibiki was looking over everyone left, waiting for more to raise their hands. Looking left and right discreetly, Naruto let out a sigh and raised his hand, a regretful smile on his face. Sasuke felt his jaw drop as Naruto stood up and raised his hand. Hinata's eyes went wide as she watching him. "N-Naruto-kun…? You can't mean…!"

Naruto gave an apologetic look her way. "Sorry guys, but I'd rather not risk it…"

Sasuke threw up his hands spasmodically, before picking up his pencil and throwing it at the back of the blonde's head so fast that it whistled in the air. He waited for it to impact only half a second later, when the pencil suddenly snapped in half a few inches from his skull, dropping to the floor as if it had hit a cement wall.

Sasuke's eyes widened. _'What was that? Could it have been…?'_

Then, Naruto turned his raised palm around and raised his middle finger proudly at the trench-coated man. "…is what you were expecting me to say, right? Psyyych~! Hahaha!"

Instantly his demeanor changed and he folded his hands behind his neck. "Go ahead, give us the question then! Nobody's left who's gonna quit!"

Ibiki felt a smile threaten to break his grim-like expression. "I'll ask you again. Your life is riding on this decision. This is your last chance to quit."

Naruto lowered his arm, but raised his middle finger again, his tongue hanging out purposefully. "Fuck you."

Hinata smiled, relaxing from her almost mild heart-attack. _'Of course Naruto wouldn't give up. He's right; I need to trust him more. He's Naruto, and I can't expect anything but that from him.'_

Sasuke simply clenched his fist and mentally threatened to throw the whole desk row at his teammate. _'I know I shouldn't have expected any different, but damn if I don't feeling like murdering him.'_ All around him everyone seemed to gain some confidence from the Leaf shinobi's words, though whether from actual inspiration or from a chance to spite the man who'd been mentally toying with them for the better part of an hour, he couldn't tell.

Ibiki was silent for several seconds, counting heads among the room's genin inhabitants. _'Seventy-eight left… more than I expected.'_ He looked at the blonde kid with a smirk. _'Kid's got guts, I'll give him that.'_

"Well then, good decisions everyone. To all those who remain, I congratulate you on passing the first test!"

The room was silent for several seconds, with each person thinking the same thing. _'Did I just hear that right?'_

But then as one they realized they had. "EEEHHHHH?"

"W-wait, what do you mean we pass? What about the tenth question?" Sakura asked, voicing everyone's unspoken question.

Ibiki, in a manner most unbefitting his previous attitude, smiled widely. "There never was such a thing, or you could say that those two choices _were_ the tenth question."

"Wait, so you're saying that all the other questions we answered were pointless?" asked the blonde girl again.

"They weren't pointless; they served their purpose well enough. To test your information gathering skills. First, as explained, success on this test is based on the whole team doing well. This put pressure onto each member not to mess things up for their teammates."

Naruto gave an audible smirk as he leaned back in his seat smugly. "Heh, there's no way I can mess up, not with my friend's futures on the line." He didn't say it loudly, but just loud enough for those around him to hear.

Hinata turned to him and giggled before scooting over closer next to him. He noticed and let his arm rest on the back of the bench where it fell behind her shoulders, perhaps, not-so discreetly.

"But the questions on this test were not the types mere genin could answer. Because of that, most of you came to the conclusion that to score points, you'd have to cheat. As cheating targets, we snuck one or two chunin in who knew all the answers, to help you guys out."

Ibiki reached behind his head and fiddled with something. "But those who cheat poorly fail, of course." He undid the knot on his bandana and took it off, revealing a grotesque assortment of burns, scars and screw-holes, to name a few of the visible injuries.

"Because sometimes, information is more important than life itself; on missions and the battlefield, people risk their lives to get their hands on it." He pulled the bandana back on and began to tie it. "If an enemy or third-party spots you, there is no guarantee the info will be accurate. I want you to remember this…" he said as he pulled the two ends in a tight knot. "…Important information in your hands, can be a powerful weapon for your comrades and your village. So we had you gather information through cheating. This clearly separated those that did and didn't have the right abilities."

"You've now made it through the entrance. The first test of chunin selection exams is now finished! I wish you guys luck."

Naruto smiled, almost ready to jump up and celebrate. It was only when he saw a dark object incoming through the window that he ducked, pulling Hinata down in the process. The object broke through the window, sending shattered glass lancing across the desks and scattering everywhere.

_'Pheww… Good thing I decided to duck,' _Naruto thought, thanking his foresight of the glass breaking. Somehow it surprised him; normally he would have been more worried about the object coming through the glass than the glass itself. It was almost as if his mind had prioritized the immediate threat rather than the secondary one. _'It happened so fast, I didn't notice it, but… maybe it's an ability of the Rinnegan! Well, I can't be sure… I'll have to test it later.'_

He raised his head up slightly, Hinata doing the same beside him as they were met with a black-cloth sign that read something about welcoming them to the second apart of the exam. He couldn't read it correctly since the woman who'd jumped in and set it up was also standing right in front of it.

"This is no time to be celebrating you punks! I'm Mitarashi Anko, your examiner for the second part of the exam. Now let's go! FOLLOW ME!"

Nobody moved.

"Uhhh…" was all Naruto could say. Hinata simply blinked several times in succession.

Sasuke had a deadpan look on his face. _'This examiner is a bit… Naruto-ish…'_

The woman wore a tan overcoat that was left open down the middle, but what was most noticeable was that she wore only a mesh shirt and pants. When the flaps of her coat moved, one could easily see the indentation of her beasts. Thank goodness she had a short skirt on her waist, since Naruto honestly didn't want to get _that_ familiar with the female anatomy in front of Hinata.

_'Unless it's Hinata's anatomy,'_ he mentally added. _'Gah! Not the right time for that! Focus! Focus!'_

The Hyuuga in question simply looked at the woman in mild shock. _'I didn't know kunoichi were allowed to walk around with so little on…'_ She stole a glance to her left, seeing Naruto pinching the bridge of his nose slightly. _'I wonder what he would think if I did that.'_

She giggled to herself, having no actual intention of doing so. But it was a funny thought.

Ibiki pulled the sign aside so he could glance at the woman. "Bad timing Anko…" he said with a small grin.

Anko had a deadpan similar to Sasuke's as she received only blank stars in response to her introduction. Then she looked over how _many_ blank stares she was getting.

"Seventy-eight?" She turned back to the first proctor, putting a hand on her hip. "Ibiki! There are twenty-six teams left! Your test was too easy for them!"

Ibiki rubbed his nose thoughtfully. "No, there were a lot of talented ones today."

"Bah, that's fine. I'll cut them in half with my test anyway."

_'In half? This many people in half? What kind of test could it be?'_ Sasuke wondered nervously.

"Ahh, I'm getting excited! I'll explain everything once we've changed locations, so please follow me." Naruto grimaced, but got up, following after her as she strolled down the middle aisle toward the back door. _'Why do I have a bad feeling about this?'_

Sasuke joined his two teammates on the way out, wondering the exact same thing.

* * *

Hiashi wasn't a stupid man. He'd always been intelligent; most Hyuuga were by nature. And throughout his ninja career, he'd learned to trust his gut instincts. And he did. Every day his gut spoke to him, and when he was young he had often gone against it, only to find himself making numerous mistakes. Correcting that, he had begun to do much better, cementing the fact, for him at least, that humans have a sort of early warning device built into their bodies; a sixth sense as it were.

It was for that reason that he now put his pen down and looked around his office. It was dark, save the lamp on his desk and the small fire behind him. His careful eyes scanned the room. Something _felt _wrong, and as he always did, he trusted what his gut told him.

It was only on his second sweep that he noticed a strange obscure from in the corner of the room. Focusing in, he instantly recognized the face.

"Gin, what are you doing here?"

He left off the title on purpose; Gin's face did not look like he'd come for a casual afternoon brunch. In one hand, he held his ever-present sword, and the other was semi-clenched, as if he were wiling it open by sheer desire, even as it fought to close.

"I had an interestin' visitor earlier," he began as he gestured to the Hyuuga head. "You."

Hiashi narrowed his eyes. "I'm afraid I don't understand. I've been here all day."

"Oh I know. It was a spy 'n disguise."

"A spy? From where?"

"From here. _Right_ here."

Hiashi noticed Gin' free hand pointing down, and he knew he was referring to the Hyuuga compound. Hiashi paused. "What did he want?"

Gin looked away, pausing for the same duration Hiashi had. "Information on Naru an' Hina."

"What _kind_ of information? Personal?"

"Well, you could say that. He wanted to know how far they've gotten in their physical relationship. I told him I didn't know."

Hiashi crossed his arms, now interested. Something was off. "I have a feeling you do know."

Gin chuckled, but it seemed wrong in the dark room with the pervading ominous atmosphere. "Well I do, and I'll never tell anyone. But that ain't the problem."

Hiashi knew something was up now. "…What happened?"

"He threatened them."

"In what way?"

"He said that if anything _did_ happen, they'd take care of it their own way. I ain't so stupid as to be ignorant o' how you clan's 'take care' of things. Threatening me is one thing. Threatening my son's another. And even worse, threatening what my son loves most."

Hiashi looked him dead in the eyes. "This is the first I've heard of this. The council must be moving behind my back. I find it curious though; you sound more upset than I am. The clan could do nothing to Naruto, clearly, so the only real one in danger is Hinata. You know that. So why are you so enraged over her fate, when I, her father, am not?"

Gin stepped closer, and Hiashi's eyes darted to the sword in his hand. It was only now that he was closer to a light source that he could see the thin lines of red that traveled down the blade. Immediately he knew the fate of the Hyuuga spy.

"You might be 'er biological dad, but you'll never be a _real_ father. Yer just incapable."

Hiashi didn't feel angry about the assessment. Instead, he laughed. "You're probably right actually. I _am_ incapable. Balancing being a father and being a clan leader and role model… I don't have the capacity, nor guidance to do both. So I chose what I felt was the most important one. You can guess which it was."

He turned and sat down again at his desk, sighing. "In all honesty you're probably _are_ more of a father to her than I could ever be." He reached under the desk, grabbed a small towel and threw it to Gin. "Clean off that sword, I don't want blood dripping all over my office."

Gin caught it and did so, sheathing it once done.

"When I heard you'd adopted the Uzumaki, I'd briefly entertained the idea of having you adopt Hinata too, just to get her off my hands. The council would have readily agreed with it too." He shook his head. "This mess with them dating is becoming more of a problem than I had anticipated."

He looked at Gin with a look that was almost akin to sympathy. "I know I've been a terrible father, and that was one reason why I opted to support your suggestion; however much of a bad taste it leaves in my mouth, Hinata is a normal girl. Whatever comfort, physical or otherwise she seeks from your son, can only be my own fault; it's a type of attention I never gave her. Either way, I can't really complain about what she does or who she does it with." Hiashi shook his head. He wasn't a fool; he knew she and Naruto had probably developed a secret physical relationship of _some_ kind. And if they hadn't yet, they certainly would. That was simply inevitable. "I made her the way she is today, whether directly or indirectly."

He gestured to a seat in front of the desk and Gin obligingly accepted. "As a father I know I want her to be happy, but…" He shook his head again. "…I can't shake off Hyuuga tradition. It's for that reason I ordered no overly invasive searches by the scouts who keep eyes on them. It's why when they report anything untoward, I feel only disappointment. Not in her, but in myself. I know I made her that way."

He gave a mirthless chuckle. "I guess you could call my allowing her to be with him a… type of apology. And why I let them get away with what they do."

"Apparently the rest of the elderly council don't agree with ya," Gin said matter-of-factly.

Hiashi nodded. "So it seems…" He leaned forward and folded his hands together. "Just so there is no miscommunication between us, I want to make sure you know exactly what our methods are for dealing with what we both know is going to inevitably happen."

Gin gave an almost hesitating nod.

"For normal Hyuuga to marry outside the clan is… rare. Even more so for an heiress. If something comes from those two fooling around, the consequences will be severe. First of all, the two would be separated immediately, and the child would be killed upon birth..." He grimaced slightly. "…followed shortly by the most brutal kind of torture for the mother. Upon its completion, she would be stripped of her name and thrown away, and all record of her existence removed." He'd never liked that rule, but he'd never found the need to repeal it, until now. But it was too late for that.

He fixed Gin with a sorrowful stare. "We are a depraved clan, Gin, no matter how prestigious we try to make ourselves look. Those tortures I mentioned a second ago aren't all physical tortures. A great deal of it is mental, and for a woman, there is not greater mental abuse than…" he paused, taking a deep breath before saying it. "…Sexual torture."

Gin didn't make any sort of expression.

"Like I said, I don't want any sort of misunderstanding between us. I won't be able to stop this if it happens. And it seems, even the council, despite all the obvious advantages to having her marry the Kyuubi boy, still don't see my side."

Gin finally spoke. "There're no misunderstandings. Not on my side anyway, but it'd probably be best that you know…" Gin pulled out a small kunai from his pocket, twirling it around his finger for moment before lifting it to his throat and making a slicing gesture. "You take 'er away from him, she won't let herself live long enough to suffer."

Hiashi nodded grimly. He'd expected something like that, or at least, he must have. He certainly wasn't surprised by it.

"An' also, despite what others may think, I _do_ view that girl as a daughter. So you c'n be sure to know the consequences of hurtin' her."

"The consequences that you would dish out? Personally?"

Gin let his smile return, if only briefly. "Not just me." He stood up, brushed off his knees and turned to leave.

"There a curious thing we learned the other day…" he began as he walked over to the door. "…our team's full of special eyes."

Hiashi blinked in surprise. "Special eyes…? What do you me-" His breath hitched in his throat when he saw _it_.

Right next to the door, there was a small shape engraved into the wall. When it had been placed there during their conversation he didn't know, but there it was. A repetition of concentric circles, over and over again.

Gin gave it a small pat before opening the door and stepping through. "Don't tell anyone," he whispered, placing a finger to his lips, as he closed the door behind him.

"Wait!" Hiashi leapt over the desk and got to the door only a second after it closed. He opened it in a hurry, but the man was already gone. He looked this way and that, but saw neither hide nor hair of the silver haired man.

"Hiashi-sama, is everything alright?" a young Main house guard asked as he entered the hallway.

Hiashi composed himself and nodded. "Yes… Yes, everything's… fine." His gaze suddenly went sharp. "Summon the council members. I wish to speak with them immediately."

The guard bowed and responded affirmatively before turning and heading off to gather them as instructed.

Hiashi growled low in his throat, knowing no one was around. _'Uzumaki Naruto… if you make it through the exams, I look forward to seeing you prove yourself to these ritualistic elders. I may not love my daughter like a proper father, but I'll damn well protect her as best I can…'_

He turned and strode swiftly to the meeting room. _'…in my own way.'_

* * *

Naruto hadn't really paid attention the entire time the instructor, Anko, had been talking, but he got the gist of the test. There would be two types of scrolls, one given out to each team, and the goal was to make it to the tower with both scrolls by the end of five days. Now she was just elaborating on how dangerous it would be, how ill prepared most of them would be, and yada yada yada… He couldn't be bothered to listen to much more than the bare essentials.

Only when he heard the whistling of an incoming kunai did his attention force itself back to reality.

It happened in slow motion. The blade was coming toward him, but not at a lethal angle. It was probably meant to clip his cheek or something unimportant. His eyes followed the blades path the entire time, almost willing it to move away.

Just as he was about to dodge, the blade's angle diverted, just a smidge, and passed on without touching him at all. _'What… the hell? How did that happen?'_

"Hey! Blondie! Pay attention or next time I'll aim for your balls!" Naruto quirked and eyebrow at her, almost wondering if she would do it or not. Hinata flinched invisibly, as if she were worried she would.

"Next time, why don't you aim at me? Period." Naruto said, miffed that she was acting all bossy. She was only a few years older than him after all.

Anko gave him a quizzical look.

Then, faster than he could see, she appeared behind him, another kunai in hand. "What was that kid? Sounded like you were taunting me or something… But you'd know better than to do that right? After all, it's tough guys like you who end up spilling their blood _all_ _over_ this forest…" She inched the kunai closer to his cheek and he appreciated.

But then the blade stopped, mere millimeters from his skin. His eyes weren't looking at her, but rather at the blade.

She noticed her hand had stopped, and she tried to push it further, to pierce his skin. But it wouldn't budge. _'He's stopping my blade, but how?'_ She was more interested than scared. This was her after all.

"The show of force is _reeaaly_ kind of unnecessary." Sasuke said as he approached them both. "Besides, I'm pretty sure it's not the proctor's job to injure us before our exam, right?"

Anko gave a strange smile, almost like Gin would do, and cocked her head at the Uchiha. "Well, I suppose you'll bleed enough during the exam anyway." She went to pull the knife away and realized that she couldn't. It was as if something was simply holding her knife in place. Her eyes narrowed and she tugged on it again. This time it released as if it had never been stuck.

She gave a look to the blonde she'd attempted to intimidate. _'I wonder what kind of power's he's got… Seems like a neat kid!'_ she thought with a smile.

But it didn't last long as she felt a presence behind _her._ She whirled, kunai in hand as a slithering tongue reached over her shoulder, holding out the knife she'd thrown only a few moments ago.

Anko regarded the person carefully. The symbol on his straw hat indicated he was a Kusagakure genin.

"Here… Your knife back," he offered, holding the knife in front of her with his elongated tongue and tipping his head in a manner that at least resembled respect, though she couldn't be sure.

"Oh, thanks!" she said as she plucked the weapon from his tongue. "But, you should be careful not to startle me from behind. Unless you want to die at least." She said with an overly bright smile.

The Kusa genin retracted his tongue slowly. "Sorry, but I get kind of excited at the idea of blood. Plus you cut my hair with that throw… I couldn't help myself."

Anko laughed not-so-nervously. "Sorry 'bout that."

Naruto didn't know if it was just him or not, but the man seemed to eye him rather than Anko when he'd stood over them. _'What was that about? And more importantly, those blades…'_ He looked down at his hands.

When the blade had come so close to his skin he could feel the cold radiating from the metal, in his mind he'd wanted it to stop; to not move again. And it had, just as he'd wanted it to. _'Well, she could've have just been messing with me. That might have just been where she wanted it to be.'_

But then he thought about when she went to remove it. It didn't budge then either. Only when he realized she wasn't going to cut him did the blade come free of its invisible binding. _'Could this… could this be an ability of the Rinnegan?'_

He looked back up to see Hinata a few feet away looking at him with concern. Apparently she was thinking the same thing, and worried about his safety.

"Looks like there're a bunch of blood thirsty ones in this test. This should be fun!" Anko said in a much too chipper tone. "Now, before we start the test, there's something I want to pass out." She held out a stack of sheets. Pulling the top one out, she handed it to Naruto, as if she hadn't just threatened him a moment before. He looked at it briefly. _'A consent form?'_

"You must sign these forms before you can participate in the exam." She announced loudly to everyone, holding up one of them so they could see. "There will be deaths in this one, and if you don't sign these, it'll be all _my_ responsibility."

Naruto glowered at her. "You're not supposed to smile as you say it…" he mumbled loud enough for her to here.

She either didn't or ignored him as she continued. "Once you've filled out your forms, head over to that booth," she pointed to it, "and turn them in for your team's scroll. And for those of you who like a little reassurance before marching to your deaths, I have one piece of advice for you; _don't die._"

"Well… that was _inspiring_," Sasuke grumbled under his breath as he approached for his form. Pulling out a pen from his pocket, he uncapped with his teeth and scribbled his name on the dotted line.

"Must've been since you're so eager," Naruto said with a laugh as he took the pen from Sasuke.

"Speak for yourself 'blondie'."

Naruto huffed humorously as he passed the pen to Hinata, playing a little game of pulling it away just as she would reach for it. Hinata pouted cutely at him and he finally handed it to her.

"Right. Now you two, I don't want you humping in the dark, ok? This is a serious test."

Naruto and Hinata both blushed, Hinata almost dropping the pen in the process.

"Fuck you Sasuke! We're perfectly able to control our hormones thank you very much!" He cross his arms angrily before realizing his statement was in need of correction.

"N-Not that we do that kind of stuff anyway, r-right Naruto?" Hinata said it for him, and he nodded all too quickly.

Sasuke simply smirked. They weren't hiding anything and they knew it. "Riiight."

* * *

Over the way, team ten and team eight were conversing amongst themselves. "Well, I hate to say this, but we probably won't make it through the exam…" Shikamaru confided in his fellow genin.

Ino groaned at his idiocy. "Come on! We haven't even started yet! You've already made it through the first test haven't you?"

"Yeah, but this one seems so much harder, not to mention we could die…"

Ino threw her hands up in defeat. "I give up! You're so lazy, you give up your chance to be chunin?"

"Ehhh… chunin's overrated."

Ino looked to Sakura and practically begged her, "Switch me teams."

Kiba smiled, showing his fangs as Akamaru sat on his head contentedly. "Give it a break already you two, the only thing I'm interested in in that team seven group. Of the twelve of us, that's including Guy-sensei's team, they seem like the most problematic."

"You mean the most dangerous," Shino corrected.

Kiba shook his head. "No, Hyuuga Neji's group looks most dangerous. Sasuke's team however looks beatable, but it would be a tough fight. They've got Sasuke, and Hinata's Byakugan, and I've heard Naruto's nasty with that sword he's got. That's a tough ninjutsu, sensor, taijutsu combo there."

Shikamaru yawned loudly. "Actually I'd say we should watch out for Naruto of all of them."

Kiba looked at him as if he were crazy. "Why Naruto of all people?"

"It's troublesome, but if you ignore a stupid person, they'll do something stupid. That goes for both sides."

"I dunno, Naruto doesn't look all that stupid to me," Chouji said through a mouthful of chips.

"Seriously? How can you say that? He's always been the worst in class, either getting back grades or causing trouble."

They looked back over to where team seven stood chatting. Whether by fate or some interesting coincidence, it was then that Hinata decided to wrap her arms around his left one, even as he laughed and pulled the same arm closer to himself, bringing her with it.

Both girls had the same expression. "Huuuuh?"

Ino and Sakura were both in a surprised daze. "The hell? Are she and Naruto a… a _couple?_"

Sakura shook her head. "And all this time we were jealous because she was on Sasuke's team."

"Yeah, to be on Sasuke's team and not like Sasuke, that's…"

"Wait! What if she's just using Naruto to make Sasuke jealous of her?" Sakura thought all of a sudden.

Ino felt her brow crease in anger "Geez, that bitch's going to have another thing coming if she thinks she can steal Sasuke from us!"

"No, actually it's more likely that she's just Naruto's girlfriend," Shino said, not understanding at all how they could have reached that conclusion.

Kiba smirked as he watched. "Well I guess we can call the kid lucky, the Hyuuga's got bigger boobs than you two combined."

At that he felt both girl's righteous anger burn against him. "WHAT WAS THAT KIBA? YOU WANNA DIE?"

Kiba looked at them as if they were denying a simple fact of life. "What? Neither of you can tell, but that's a pretty thick sweatshirt, and I know better than any of you how well jackets can hide something."

They looked at him as if he were crazy until they heard a small bark coming from below. They all looked down to see Akamaru crawling up Kiba's jacket and poking his head out the top.

"When did he get in there, we didn't even see… him…" The light bulb was almost visible as it blinked to life in their head.

They looked at Hinata, and then back to themselves.

Ino cupped her breasts, or, would have, _if_ she had breasts to cup. As it was, she rubbed her hands over her small bumps. Sakura did the same, only it was worse for her. All she could really feel was the slight nubs that were her nipples, which were slightly stiff due to her thoughts of Sasuke.

_'That's so not fair! If Kiba can hide a dog in his jacket…'_ she looked over and examined the boy's clothing. _'…and _still_ have room left over, how much is Hinata hiding?'_ Both girls pouted as a gloom-cloud settled over their heads.

"Oi oi, they gonna be ok?" Kiba asked worriedly.

"I heard that women consider breast sizes about as equally as guys treat dick sizes. But that's just what I've heard. Couldn't care less if it were true or not. Way too troublesome."

Kiba laughed nervously. "Ouch, I guess in a way I just said Hinata's dick was bigger than their's combined, huh? Whoops."

Then all the guys blinked.

"Oh dear Kami! I'm not a futanari fan!" Kiba slapped his forehead multiple times, thankful that had Akamaru moved from it earlier.

Shino said nothing, but he did shake his head, almost as if in disappointment.

Chouji went a little green in the face and lowered his bag of chips.

Shikamaru… did nothing?

They all looked to him strangely. He, noticing their gazes, simply yawned. "Can't be bothered to defend myself."

Kiba's face screwed up slightly. "Oook. Moving on. Since we've all signed out forms, I guess it would be a good idea to go ahead and turn them in."

They all nodded before parting, grabbing their respective female teammates from beneath their gloom-clouds and dragging them to the turn-in station.

* * *

"Looks like everyone's getting in line now. We should probably do the same." Sasuke suggested, eyeing the growing crowd in front of the small structure. Hinata and Naruto both nodded, following him over to it and getting in line.

Naruto pocketed his hands, but Hinata kept hers latched onto his right arm regardless. Her Hyuuga brethren wouldn't be able to keep track of her during this test, so she needn't worry about hiding her impulses. Sure she knew it was a very deadly test, but that didn't mean she couldn't enjoy the time she got with the boy she loved.

They inched closer minute by minute as teams went through and left for their specific starting gate.

About five minutes after getting in line, they were startled by a voice from behind them. "You, with the sword."

They turned to see a short red-haired boy, flanked by a black-clad boy with kabuki styled makeup and a strange… _something_ strapped to his back, and a blonde girl with four pigtails and a black rectangular object on her back. The red head, like his compatriots, also had something on his back, but instead of something that looked like a potential weapon, he had a large sand-colored gourd tied diagonally across it. Whatever was in it, it didn't look that heavy, from the way he carried himself.

"What's your name?" He asked in monotone, his eyes narrowed, but not in a way that seemed different from his usual expression. His face just looked like it was born with that look.

Naruto's eyebrows raised and pointed to himself. "Who, me? Uzumaki Naruto. Why?"

"Uzumaki Naruto, huh? I make it a rule to learn the name of those who seem strong. Perhaps you'll provide me some entertainment in this exam."

Naruto felt a bit worried about how he was observing him, like an opponent in a gladiatorial area. _'Oh wait… right.'_

"Then what's yours? It's only fair you tell us yours."

The boy didn't flinch; he didn't _move_ at all. "Sabaku no Gaara."

He turned his head slightly, now facing Sasuke. He didn't say anything, but he looked at him intently. Finally he turned to Hinata, his faded emerald eyes tapered as he looked at her face.

Unlike other people who would normally look her up and down before laughing at her, this boy simply looked into her eyes, as if he could see everything he needed to see through them. It both made her feel good that she wasn't being judged on her appearance, but it also unnerved her.

"You're nervous. That's good," he finally said. "Those other beasts who are taking this exam are either too afraid or too stupid to be afraid… of me."

Hinata felt a strange as he half-way complimented her. Like how she'd felt when Zabuza had commended her during the mission to Wave, she felt encouraged by it. The fact that she was seen as a growing threat, despite however small she might seem _now_, made her swell with pride.

He must have noticed, since his eyes narrowed, this time actually growing thinner as he consciously made his face move. "Your eyes…"

She looked back at him strongly, refusing to look bad in front of Naruto. But it was then that she actually looked into his eyes. For real, looked into them. And what she saw scared her.

Cold, mercilessness, playful blood-lust, and a desire to brutally murder anyone who looked at him the wrong way…

And she also saw loneliness. She saw sadness. She saw broken despair.

In fact, she couldn't help but make the distinct comparison. _'His eyes look… almost like Naruto's…'_

"H-hey, come on Gaara, we don't need to fight right now; the exam's about to begin," said the kabuki painted boy, almost as if he were afraid of speaking to the younger red head.

Gaara didn't move, his impassive gaze never lifting from Hinata's eyes. "You're all strong. With you, I'll be sure to solidify my existence."

Naruto wondered what he meant by that, but he didn't have time to question him as he closed his eyes and walked past them, cutting in front and heading into the small stand in front of them.

Gaara's two teammates let out audible breaths and followed after.

Naruto stared after them. "I don't like him."

Sasuke fixed his teammate with a stare. "That's because half the people here are insane."

Naruto gave a lighthearted shrug. "You're insane and I still like you."

Sasuke gave a glare that clearly said "shut up" and Naruto chuckled.

"Come on you two, it's our turn!" Hinata said, in a surprisingly happy tone as she all but dragged the two to the stand. The stare-down she'd just had now had her adrenalin pumping, if only a little, and she was eager and ready for anything!

Naruto walked in and handed over the papers, which the chunin behind the desk exchanged for a scroll. Naruto took it and looked at the symbol on the front. _'Heaven, huh?'_ He wondered if somewhere up above, God didn't have a sense of humor.

"So who's going to take it?" Hinata asked curiously. Naruto looked at the scroll for a few seconds before slipping it into his back pocket.

"I will. I don't want to risk them going after you specifically," he said as he looked at Hinata to his left. "And I don't exactly trust you with it," he looked at Sasuke with a joking smile. "…So I'll take it."

Sasuke smirked and ignored the insult. "Fine by me. You're the dumbest looking one of us three, so they'll never expect you to have it."

Naruto gave a peeved scowl to his raven haired teammate but chose to remain silent.

"A-anyway…" Hinata said with a nervous smile, as if she were afraid to break up their stare down. "We should probably get going now."

"Don't worry," the chunin said with an assuring voice. "The test won't start for half an hour after the last team gets their scroll. That way everyone will have time to set up."

They nodded to the man and walked out, Naruto having tucked the scroll in his pocket safely.

* * *

**Forty minutes later. **

Naruto sat perched atop the forest's perimeter fence, his back to the forest as he examined his two teammates below him.

Sasuke sat on his butt, seemingly staring at nothing.

Hinata had chosen to lean against a nearby rock, her legs spread out in front of her, her head leaned back and her eyes closed as she dozed. Naruto smiled as he watched her. _'Hehe, she's cute when she sleeps.'_

He looked down to the chunin who stood by the gate watchfully. "Hey, how much time's left?"

The chunin looked at his watch. "Two minutes. Better get ready you three."

Naruto hopped off the fence and strode over to Hinata as Sasuke got up and stretched his limbs. Naruto leaned down and made sure to place his body between the two behind him.

That done, he leaned forward uncontrollably and pressed his lips to hers, gently pushing them together. Her brain felt it and he could almost see the surge of electricity as her eyes opened from the sensation. When she saw his face so close to hers, and then the feeling of their lips together, she almost _eep!_-ed but something in his eyes made her silent.

"C'mon sleepy head, we've got a big few days ahead of us," he whispered quietly as he grabbed her arms and pulled her to her feet. She stifled a yawn and nodded to him when he asked if she was ok.

Naruto eyed the other two people there, wondering if they noticed his (in his mind) sly move.

Neither gave an indication they had. Sasuke bounced on his toes a few times getting the circulation flowing. Hinata stretched her arms into the air, simultaneously thrusting her hips to the right in the process.

Naruto couldn't help but notice a bit of midriff as her shirt rose with her arms. He also couldn't help the blush coming on, especially not after remembering the last time he'd seen her torso's skin. She rarely trained without her jacket on, and then it was only on the hottest of days, so he never got to see any skin expect her hands and face. Of course, that's ignoring that night the previous week.

He shook his head and brought his attention back to the matter at hand. The chunin had his hand on the button that would automatically open the gate, and his eyes on his watch. "Thirty seconds you three."

Naruto smirked as he walked up to the gate. "Phew… here we go."

Hinata still felt a little worried about the whole thing, and she didn't doubt the other two did too. But there was something she felt… empty about. It was like she was forgetting something; that nagging feeling that continued to eat at you until you remember. She inched closer to Naruto by habit, and felt the sense thin a little. She looked to Naruto, and realized what it was.

Naruto caught her gaze and turned to her. "What is it Hina-mpphh!"

He was silenced as she launched herself at him and pressed their lips together tightly. Naruto, for his part, was both slightly mortified, and also extremely excited to see this side of Hinata in public. It was probably the first time she'd taken the initiative out in the open. He closed his eyes and let himself get lost in the kiss, their tongues wasted no time in reaching out to each other and dancing. And it wasn't the waltz; no sir, it was the bloody _tango!_

She spared no hesitation in forcing her tongue down his throat and reveling the feeling of surprise run through his body, and the redoubled effort he put forth as he tried to force the fight back into her own mouth.

Finally they broke apart, the fact that humans needed to breathe an unfortunate fact that made itself clear in their burning lungs. They huffed a little and Naruto had a "slapped-stupid" look on his face. But there was also a smiling grin.

"Whoooo…" He spun lazily on one leg, feeling like a million bucks. Sasuke had seen the whole thing and rolled his eyes at the blonde.

"You two are so going to get killed; today, or another day."

Hinata felt her cheeks brighten in a blush as she poked her fingers together. "S-sorry… I couldn't help myself…"

Naruto waved off her concern. "No complaints here! Hehe, whooooooo~…"

The chunin shook his head, smiling at them. _'Kids these days.'_ He looked at his watch and readied his thumb to press the open button. "Ten seconds you friggen love birds." He said with a laugh as he shook his head.

Naruto gave a nod to the man and stepped forward, his form flanked by his two best friends. "Alright! You ready Sasuke?"

The Uchiha gave his famous grin. "Always."

"You ready Hina?"

She gave a confident nod, her face setting itself in a fierce, competitive expression. "Hai!"

"No hesitation then, we're gonna win this chunin exam, together!"

The chunin's fingers raised in anticipation, and their sharp eyes caught sight of his muscles visible flexing to press the button.

"Remember guys; failure is _not_ an option."

Hinata nodded. "Don't worry, we'll win this easily."

"GO!"

The chunin pressed the button and the fenced gate swung open, narrowly missing being trampled over by the three eager genin that leapt into the forest, their eyes brimming with excitement.

Little did they know that they were heading into a firestorm that years from now would be known as the "Tests to end all Tests."

It was aptly named.

* * *

**A/N: And now you see (or perhaps don't see) what I was talking about. Choppy, uncoordinated, and I realy just don't like it. Well, not to say I don't like it, but I don't _feel_ right over it. But then again, I'm halfway sleep deprived, so who am I to judge? Wait, its my work so... Aren't I supposed to be my biggest critic? Bah! I'll leave it to you reviewers :) Be sure to leave long reviews! Criticism is always appreciated (though not necessarily liked)! ^^ **

**'Till next time!**


	13. Chapter 13: Wretches and Kings

**A/N: Guess what? FIFTY-THREE ****ING PAGES OF TEXT BABY! Oh yeah! My fingers are bleeding, my eyes are burning out of their sockets, and my stress is an at an all-time high, but I GOT IT DONE! WOOOOT! Ok, now on a more serious note, finals are coming up for me, so I'm not looking forward to that. But oh well, gotta take 'em some time. **

**Oh! Guess what I found out while looking at my story's stats? I have over FOUR-HUNDRED and TEN (410+) Story Alerts for this story alone! But while that may seem eventful and happy sounding, its actually depressing. You see, out of the four-hundred plus people who get alerts every time I update KSS, I only seem to get twenty or so reviews per chapter... *SAD FACE!* I won't mind saying it; I aspire to make this story a ONE-THOUSAND plus (1000+) reviewed fic, and for that, I want everyone's help in not only supporting this story that you all love so much, but also showing that this story is worth it by boosting its reviews out the wazzu! So when you read a chapter, don't be afraid to post a little something as a review. In fact, feel _PROUD!_ If Harry Potter had been updated one chapter at a time on FanFiction, or even Twilight (as much as I dislike its concept) and the Percy Jackson books, I _know_ you all would be reviewing left and right. **

**I'll admit, I'm not quite as good as Rick Riordan, Stephanie Meyer, or J. K. Rowling, but I'm still _pretty _good right? Worth reviewing at least.**

**Speaking of which, you all know what time it is! That's right! Reviewer Acknowledgement time! Out of the over-four-hundred people who are alerted to my stories, I want to thank **Furionknight, Nightblader1021, pyromania101 **(As always, for the long, in-depth reviews), **EVA-Saiyajin, bankai777, NorthSouthGorem, Shisora, reven228, Leaf Ranger, OBSERVER01, Orchamus, MWkillkenny84, Chewie Cookies, Kaminari Hatake-chan, Chris, Ookami88, ShadowStar91, cmcwiki, Skelo, asredwer, GuardianOfTheMist, KitElizaKing, CracktheSkye, Hypothetical Spiritual Entity, RisingSolstice, Andreasfr, **and **awsm125 **for taking the time to show their interest and passion for this story. Your devotion is what keeps me going.**

**That said, I hope you like this chapter, that deals specifically with the entirety of the Second Chunin test. I considered cutting in half and putting it out as two chapters, but there can never be too much of a good thing... right?**

**But enough of me talking! Onto the action!**

* * *

**Chapter 13: Wretches and Kings...**

The wind whipped by their faces like wisps of thread. Alert, ready, confident; those were three words that described team seven as they soared from branch to branch inside the deadly perimeter of training ground number forty-four, AKA: "The Forest of Death."

They didn't know what they were looking for exactly, but they knew they'd know what it was when they spotted it.

Well, that's not entirely true. They were looking for enemies; fellow contestants in the exam to become chunin. But those enemies were also looking for them; a dangerous situation to be caught off guard in. They could be anywhere, under any rock and behind any tree. But the sole female of the group had that covered.

Hyuuga Hinata, a girl gifted with the Byakugan, a genetic device that allowed three-hundred and sixty degrees of X-ray vision, kept both eyes open for incoming targets. Blessed with the most kind-hearted soul in the world, she would let nothing escape her sight, for the sake of her two teammates; her _real_ family.

But if by some chance someone did manage to evade her detection, the two boys were duty-bound to defend her, and ward off the attack.

The first boy, Uchiha Sasuke, a child of misfortune and calamity, gifted with the blood of the infamous Uchiha clan, and the dark power of the Sharingan, his goal to kill his blood-brother was only a faint cry in the back of his subconscious as his face was set in stone. He was prepared to see, copy and kill all threats to his team.

And what got by him, would _not_ get past the third member of their squad.

Uzumaki Naruto, like and unlike Sasuke, was a child born of conflict and one man's selfish desire for revenge. Sealed with the most despicable of demons, and coincidently the strongest of the Nine Bijuu, he grew up under the tutelage of a Shinigami; a god of death. Bequeathed with the enigmatic Rinnegan, and in love with his Byakugan wielding teammate, he would let nothing get past him in his quest to become the greatest shinobi of all time.

For that reason, he stood by, close to both of them as they traveled through the ancient forest.

"Anything?" Sasuke asked, his eyes only momentarily diverting to glance at Hinata behind him.

"…Nothing so far."

"We're half an hour in and almost to the tower. We should be meeting heavy resistance and soon," Naruto said as he took the lead position, his draft making it easier for those behind him to follow.

"Hinata, switch from looking for enemies to looking for traps."

She gave a silent nod and switched her focus.

After only a few more minutes, Naruto fell down to the ground, landing without a sound. Silently, the other two followed suit.

They looked around carefully.

"No enemies in the immediate area… It's possible most haven't made it this far in," Hinata said, turning her head to look at the blonde haired boy. She didn't need to, since her vision could focus on and see anything within a certain range of three-hundred and sixty degrees, but she wanted to. She wanted to make sure he knew she was giving him her full attention.

"They probably are all intercepting each other at the gates," Sasuke presumed. "Very few have probably even gotten this deep."

Naruto nodded, accepting the fact thankfully. "Good, we'll set up shop here. While everyone's duking it out at the start, anyone who makes it further in will be tired from fighting, and'll be easy picking."

The other two nodded and began to bunker down. Choosing a good sized tree with large roots that weaved through the ground, they began to dig, hollowing out a large hole for them to hide and sleep in. It took them the better part of the afternoon to do, both boys working tirelessly as Hinata kept watch. When the hole was big enough for them all to comfortably sleep in, they spread out some necessary traps and clambered in and filling up the entrance behind them.

It was dark, but each of them had excellent vision and there really wasn't much to see, so they managed. Carefully poking holes through the top of their small hovel, they made sure they'd be able to get enough air before pulling out their gear.

"We'll stay here until tonight. That's when the smarter ones will make their moves. If we're lucky we can find a group or two already fighting and grab the scroll from the winning team." Naruto leaned against a dirt wall and closed his eyes.

"You can't be tired _yet,_" Sasuke exclaimed solidly. Naruto peeked an eye at him. "I know, I'm just closing them. They've been tingling all day."

"…Could it have something to do with your Rinnegan?" Hinata asked, taking her seat beside him.

He pondered it. It very well could be that. Remembering the event with that Anko woman's kunai, he realized it might have had something to do with his Rinnegan.

Sasuke eyed him from across the dirt cave. "Earlier, when you raised your hand to give up in the first test, I threw a pencil at you. It broke in half as soon as it got close to you."

Naruto blinked in surprise. "Really?" He hadn't known that. "Well, If that's true, then earlier when that weird chick threw those kunai at me…" he trailed off silently, and his eyes narrowed imperceptibly.

"You mean when the kunai missed you, and when it stopped from cutting you?"

Naruto turned to Sasuke with a look of shock. Sasuke simply huffed in amusement. "Yeah, I saw it, or rather, I guess I suspected it. Why would she have thrown a kunai at you without cutting you? She didn't seem like the type who'd miss. And when she moved behind you, I had my Sharingan active, just in case. It was hard to see, but your eyes were pulsing with chakra, and I could see her muscles straining, even if just a bit, to cut you. It only makes sense that your Rinnegan's power is awakening."

Naruto looked down at his hands. "Yeah, but it's a pain. Both of you guys had training from family members to use your jutsu. I have no idea what my Rinnegan can do."

"W-well…" Hinata began quietly. "…the books in the library said that those who have the Rinnegan can become either a savior or c-conqueror. Either way, it _has_ to be powerful, whatever it does."

Naruto gave her a soft smile. "Yeah… I guess you're right. Still…" he cut himself off as he felt a soft hand on his sleeve. He looked over and saw Hinata' gentle face, her look almost commanding him, in her own way, to not worry about it.

"We'll figure it out… eventually," she said as she squeezed his arm.

"Well, we know now that you have some sort of shield that can stop and deflect objects near you." Sasuke said, moving the conversation along. "That'll come in handy I think."

Naruto huffed skeptically. "Yeah, it _would, if _I knew how to use it." Well, that wasn't entirely true; he knew it had something to do with his will, since he'd wanted that Anko woman's kunai to "not cut him." So that meant it was linked to his desire in a way. At the same time, it also must have been somewhat of an unconscious ability, since he'd apparently also snapped Sasuke's pencil out of the air.

He furrowed his brow and took on a contemplative look. _'I wonder…'_

He looked to his right and concentrated. Hinata blinked as he stared at her. He didn't usually do that; well, not with that kind of a face. "W-what is it…?" she asked hesitantly, her eyes itching to look somewhere else other than in his.

But she didn't get the chance as she felt a strange sensation in her body. It was small, but it felt almost as if she were being drawn forward. She looked down at herself, wondering why she felt like that when suddenly her body lurched forward and fell on top of his. She landed with a surprised _eep!_ As she and her boyfriend toppled over, her on top of him.

She steadied herself with her hands as she pushed herself up gently. "W-what was-…?" She was silenced by Naruto's silent cheering. "Yes! It worked!"

She gave him a strange look and he calmed down. "Oh! Sorry, I probably should have warned you, but I didn't think it would work."

"Didn't think what would work?" she asked curiously, thought she already had an idea.

"Well, I looked at you and told myself that I… uh, well… I um, kind of…" He suddenly looked embarrassed as she stroked the back of his neck. "…I k-kind of told myself I wanted you closer to me… heheh!"

A thin tripe of pink stretched across her cheeks as she averted her gaze slightly. _'H-he wants me closer to him… Not that I mind… at all! But…'_

"N-Naruto-kun, can you n-not use me to test your new powers on? P-please?" she asked with a look that said she really didn't want to get hurt, which she had no doubt she would be if he continued testing himself out.

Naruto nodded with an apologetic smile, but then his face went strangely warped. "Wait… so you… don't want to be near me?" His eyes suddenly went round and wide, sparkling in the light from the air holes in the ceiling and his bottom lip trembled erratically. Instantly Hinata felt like her heart would tear in two! Naruto almost _never_ used his puppy-dog look, but when he did… _'Well, I guess it would be more like puppy-_fox_ look for him.'_ Still, it made her feel so sad when she saw it.

"T-t-t-that's n-not what I m-m-meant! I love being n-next to you!" As if to prove her point she fell back down on top of him and squeezed him tightly, her eyes straining shut with the effort.

Naruto merely laughed with and _oof!_ As he patted her back with one hand and rubbed up and down with his other. "Haha! I'm kidding, I'm kidding! Though, I definitely appreciate the sentiment." He smiled with one of _those _smiles as she looked up to his face from where she lay on his chest and she felt her heart flutter.

Sasuke shook his head with a smile. "You two…" They were going to either be the death of him, or a source of infinite amusement. In all likelihood, it would be both and he'd die laughing.

"Well, we should probably catch some Z's so we're ready for tonight. And Naruto, no _'willing'_ on Hinata while I'm around, 'K? Do that in your spare time."

Naruto fixed him with a glare, though with him on his back beneath his Hyuuga love, it didn't have quite the same impression it would have otherwise had. Though Sasuke's eyes were already closed, he knew Naruto had a light blush on his face. Hinata too, but that was normal.

Except Hinata's blush was much bigger than Naruto's. In response to Sasuke's taunt, she simply buried her head into the blonde boy's chest, loving the feeling of comfort and security she felt from doing so. Even more so when one of his hands reached up and rested on the back of her head softly.

She felt, more than heard, Naruto's chuckle emanate from his chest, and loved feeling the slow rise and fall of it as he breathed in and out, his breath slowing ever so slowly as he tried to bring himself to sleep. Something about how he looked and felt as she watched him was oddly… soothing. She felt almost at peace as she lay there contentedly. Soon enough, she closed her eyes too and listened to the rhythm of his heart as it slowed, drifting off to its steady beating.

Sasuke watched, the darkness no hindrance to his eyes as he eyed them discreetly. _'Hmh, those two…'_ He let a slight smirk escape his lips as he closed his eyes as well.

* * *

**Eight hours later**

The dirt barrier that had been erected around the makeshift hiding hole crumbled away slightly, a lone eye peeking through the small orifice created. After a few seconds, the rest of the wall came down, revealing five more eyes and three bodies as they clambered out quietly. They all looked around carefully, eyeing even the darkest of shadows.

"We clear Hinata?"

She activated her Byakugan and after a few seconds nodded. "Mm, there are no enemies nearby."

They relaxed slightly, but stayed alert were anything to pop up. "Then let's find some. Expand your vision-field and look for someone, anyone. And see if you can find some with an earth scroll."

Hinata didn't need to respond for Naruto to know she would do as he asked. He couldn't imagine the ability to see multiple things from any possible angle, all at the same time. After several seconds, Hinata's eyes narrowed, as if she were unsure of something. Then, in a sharp voice she broke from her silent trance.

"Everyone! Below us!"

Instantly both boys looked down and leapt away, dragging the girl with them as a massive explosion burst from beneath their feet. They landed in the branches above, Naruto on one branch and Sasuke with Hinata on another.

"Holy-! That's _HUUUGE!_"

The gargantuan serpent hissed, its tongue flicking in and out, tasting the air as its eyes fell on them. It lunged forward.

"Sasuke!"

He didn't need to be called. Before the words had finished leaving his mouth, Sasuke had already inhaled a lung full of air. _'**Katon…**'_ He threw his head forward opening his mouth as a torrent of flame spewed forth. _'…**Gōkakyū no Jutsu!**'_

The giant snake hesitated as the flames approached, and it coiled back at the last second, but did not avoid the blast. It hissed loudly as it thrashed around wildly.

"We got it!" Naruto cried triumphantly. But he spoke too soon as it began to thrash their way. It loomed over them and threw its scorched dead down.

"JUMP!" The Uchiha's words were reflected into action as they all leapt away, just as the serpent came crashing down onto the tree, smashing it in half from the impact and causing it to fall to the ground, splinters of wood showering the three as they landed. The snake continued to thrash about, even as the fire on its head burned out and all that was left was the tender skin beneath the scales.

They all watched it carefully, but relaxed as they became more sure that it wouldn't try to attack them again.

Hinata let out a sigh of relief as the snake slithered away at last, leaving a large trail through the dirt as it disappeared.

"Well, that was close…" Naruto said humorlessly. "Since when do snakes burrow underground? I've never heard of them doing that."

"Well… there _are_ some snakes that do that," Hinata explained. "But I've never heard of any living in the Leaf village."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed as he took in the information. _'Well if that's the case, then someone would have had to bring that snake here to this forest. But a snake as big as that one would have broken out a long time ago, so it must be a recent arrival here…'_ Suddenly, somewhere in the back of his head, it clicked, and an old academy lesson floated to the forefront of his mind. It was the one where Iruka had painstakingly mapped out the mechanics of summoning jutsu and how creatures could be summoned to fight if one had the proper contract.

He felt a sinking feeling in his belly as he realized; that snake wasn't indigenous. It was a summoning. So that meant it had been summoned on command to-

"Hinata! Use your Byakugan quick! That snake was only a summoning; the real enemy is still out there!" Sasuke commanded as he himself began to peer into the many shadows that were around them. Whoever had summoned that snake knew where they were and likely had been waiting for them to come out.

Hinata did as requested, but by the time she saw him, it was too late.

"Who exactly are you looking for?" came an ominous voice from behind them.

They all whirled while attempting to leap away, but the man's foot caught Naruto in the chest, and his opposite hand hit Hinata in the face, sending them both reeling away.

Sasuke was the only one who managed to leap away unscathed, but he was not unprepared to counter. He inhaled again and spewed flames at the man, who had fortunately knocked Naruto and Hinata out of the way if his attack. The man simply sidestepped out of the way, the wisps of flames from the fireball catching only the very tips of his clothes.

"Good reaction time." He commented as he dove after Sasuke.

The Uchiha landed on the truck of a tree and leapt away immediately, the man following. _'I remember this guy… it's that Kusa genin from before!_ _The long-tongued man who'd given the kunai back to the second exam proctor… Yeah, definitely the same guy.'_

The man hit the tree only a second after Sasuke had left it, shattering it and chasing onward. Sasuke dove and swung from branch to branch the man in hot pursuit. _'Shit! This guys on a totally other level!'_

He had the clarity of mind to run in a circle so Naruto and Hinata could catch up. As skilled as he was, he knew this guy wasn't someone he could kill on his own, and for that reason, he was relieved when light-red balls of energy began to rain around them, exploding on trees, branches and all around the pursuing genin. Sasuke couldn't stop a smile from creeping across his face as he saw Naruto stood on the forest floor, his palm aimed up at them and red balls of light firing from his out-turned palms.

Sasuke divert his path, heading right into the oncoming storm of fireballs, weaving between them and hoping his chaser got hit. He needed to make it back to his team or they'd be picked off one by one.

As soon as he broke from the cover of tree, the hail of light stopped, and he saw Naruto bring his hands together, aiming them up at Sasuke.

"**Hado no Gojūhachi, Tenran!**"

Sasuke barely landed in time to dodge the massive torrent of wind that blasted past him, nearly knocking him off of his feet in the process.

He barely had enough time to look back to see the other genin open his mouth. With his Sharingan, Sasuke could see the chakra gather to his mouth and out of it, and he could tell it was a wind technique. The resulting clash of the two techniques caused the air pressure to increase like crazy. Naruto growled low in his throat as his feet began to slip on the dirt. "HHAAAAAAHH!" His yell echoed through the clashing windstorm and his feet stopped moving. Instantly the wind grew stronger.

Sasuke could see the chakra-laced wind blowing all around them, slashing into trees, small animals, and the ground, treating it up like a hurricane. Wind, being the type of element it was, spread all around them, making it impossible to distinguish who was winning, but only a few seconds after both gusts of wind ceased, and Naruto stared up at the other man seriously.

Sasuke would have sighed if he weren't… well, Sasuke._ 'Good, Naruto understands the situation.'_ He looked around and spotted Hinata behind Naruto, sporting a nasty bruise on her cheek, but looking no less determined.

The straw hat the other genin had been wearing at the start of the fight was now gone, presumably blown away in the resulting torrent of wind.

"My, my… it seems I may have underestimated you three a bit." He reached behind him and pulled out a small black scroll. "You three have the Heaven scroll right? I know you do. And I have an Earth scroll. It makes sense that we fight each other."

He brought the scroll to his mouth, his long tongue wrapping around it as he pushed it down his throat. Hinata made a gulping sound, though whether it was in apprehensive fear or disgust, neither boy could tell.

"So you swallowed your scroll. I'll just slice you in half to get it," Naruto threatened dangerously.

The man laughed lightly at him. "Oh little Naruto-kun, do you really think it will be that simple?" As he spoke, he dropped from the branch, landing on the ground casually before surging forward unexpectedly.

Naruto's eyes widened as he drew his sword, readying himself, as Sasuke brought his hands together. _'**Katon, hōsenka no jutsu!**'_

A phalanx of fireballs disgorged from Sasuke's mouth, forcing the Kusa-nin to dodge to the left, right, above and below the torrent of fireballs. The way he moved was eerily similar to how a snake slithered along the ground, skillfully maneuvering around the spheres of flame with smooth grace.

Naruto brought his wakizashi up to his face, pointing the blade carefully at the approaching enemy. _'Hold still… hold still… steady…'_

The Kusa genin slid to the right and made to push off to the left to dodge another attack when his foot stuck fast to the ground. _'What?'_

He barely had time to raise his arms to shield his face from the ball of flame that slammed into him. Immediately Sasuke jumped on the opportunity and concentrated all of his attacks on that spot. _'All he can do now is defend and take it!'_

The explosions of flame crashed all around the genin, and behind him, searing the forest and burning its old, dead wood with scorching flames.

_'Now!'_ Naruto tightened his grip and narrowed his eyes on the spot where the genin no doubt was. "**Ikorose, Shinsō!**"

The blade flashed silver for a second before it fired, blasting forth with such force that Hinata could feel its repulsion from behind Naruto.

The blade smashed into the flame covered man and kept on going, impacting a massive tree beyond, sending pieces of wood flying everywhere. "Huurraaahh!"

With a cry, Naruto dragged his hilt to the side, sending the elongated blade attached to it (and the Kusa-nin impaled on it) smashing into another tree with such force that the entire base of the tree crumpled beneath the blow.

When the noise had settled, Naruto recalled the blade and waited for it to return from the dust and smoke covered forest beyond.

Sasuke panted lightly as they looked at the carnage they'd wrought. Burning and shattered trees was all that remained of the forest in front of them. The campfire-smell wafted through their nostrils, along with the noticeable smell of burnt human flesh.

"Crap, I don't think there'll even be a scroll left after that…" Naruto said sorrowfully as he peered into the growing flames as they spread.

"W-we might as well see if there is or not. It'd be a waste to go through that and leave it because we thought it wasn't there," Hinata suggested meekly.

Sasuke gave Naruto a look and they both nodded. "Alright, let's go. And let make it quick; other teams will be heading this way soon."

They nodded back to him and leapt off, avoiding the fires as best as possible as they went deeper into the forest. They landed next to the tree that the man had been smashed into and looked left and right for him.

"He couldn't be alive after that… could he?" Naruto said, and then asked uncertainly. They couldn't find him.

Hinata used her Byakugan and looked around, including the ground this time. She was immediately thankful she did, since he was directly below them, his chakra still strong and steady. She took a deep breath and let it out, gathering chakra to the palms of her hands.

"BELOW!" With a cry of direction, she slammed her hands into the ground, sending her chakra down as far as she could. As soon as she did, she saw her chakra impact his body and saw his chakra fluctuate slightly. But then she saw it grow stronger and rise to the surface. She gasped and leapt away as he burst through the ground, his left hand only inches from her neck.

Sasuke knocked the hand away with a kick, only to receive a rising elbow to the groin. The Uchiha stumbled back as the man got out of the ground and to his feet in time to dodge a flurry of strikes from Naruto.

The man smirked as his foot lashed out and caught the blonde in the side. But Naruto had already suctioned his feet to the ground solidly. "Heh, you're mine!" He grabbed the man's leg and wrapped his arm around it, bringing his own leg up to the man's side in a retaliatory strike.

The man blocked it with his forearm and sent his right hand as a punch to Naruto's skull. The blonde managed to block it with the flat end of Shinsō. Naruto grunted as he tried to balance on the one foot he had when an unfamiliar presence manifested behind him.

He barely managed to glance behind him when the man's fist smashed into the side of his face, sending him tumbling away.

"Hmh, you're good, but the prey must pay attention for other predators too."

Naruto picked himself up and saw, to his shock, _two_ of the Kusa genin. "Wha…?"

Then the one that he'd been scuffling with burst into smoke. "**Kage bunshin**," he explained simply.

Naruto grit his teeth. He knew for a fact that the Kage bunshin technique was a Leaf village specific technique. So how did this guy know it?

He turned to Hinata and Sasuke as they approached behind Naruto. Sasuke noticeably limped as his hand tried to massage away the pain from his manliness. Naruto smirked despite the situation. "Hey Sasuke, I thought the Uchiha had balls of steel. What happened?" He just couldn't help himself sometimes.

Sasuke looked as if he wanted to smirk, but simply couldn't bring himself to do it. "He's got a titanium fist," was his only explanation.

The man crossed his arms casually, bringing one hand up to the side of his face. "What a team you have there, Sasuke-kun…" he chuckled darkly. "When I came here to fight you, I honestly had expected an easier time of it." He fixed the other two with a commending look, or something close to it.

"It's a good thing that I used a Kage bunshinto distract you. That Jyuuken of yours screwed up my clone's chakra quite a bit." He said to Hinata before turning to Naruto. "And you… such an interesting combination you had there. A fire technique on par with that of Sasuke's, and a wind technique as strong as mine. And to top it all off, a sword technique like that… how interesting."

He chuckled as he stepped forward. "To be honest, I had no trouble dodging your flames, Sasuke-kun, until my foot stopped moving." He shook his head almost at himself. "It was like my foot was glued to the ground… now whose technique might that have been?" He looked amongst the three of them as if to determine who it was.

Both Sasuke and Hinata threw a careful glance toward Naruto, knowing of his recently developing powers.

The man smirked. "So it was you?" He rushed forward, leaping into the air and diving down to meet them.

"Scatter!"

They rolled away, avoiding the powerful impact that sent dust and dirt into the air. Naruto got to his feet and narrowed his eyes as he saw the man's silhouette coming his way. He thrust Shinsō forward to impale the man as he emerged from the cloud. But to Naruto's surprise, the man easily knocked the blade away, as if he'd known it would be there. He grabbed Naruto's wrists in both of his hands and pulled them apart, drop kicking him with both feet in the chest.

"Gah!" Naruto shot back and rolled across the earth, coughing in pain. He looked up just in time to see a gargantuan snake leering above him, the genin riding on its head. "**Kuchiyose no jutsu!**"

Naruto's eyes widened as the snake dove down to hit him.

"**Hakke Kūhekishō!**"

Before Naruto could dodge, it was knocked away, a burst of force smashing into the side of its head. Naruto looked to the side and saw Hinata with both her palms extended, her chest heaving with strain. _'Ugh…! I shouldn't have used that technique…'_ Already she could feel her chakra system tingle in pain. Her body wasn't accustomed to using big techniques like that.

Naruto quickly got up and stumbled over to her as the man got back up, independent of his snake as it coiled around a large tree and climbed higher for a better vantage point. The man stalked forward. "Hmhmhmhm… Such interesting prey you are…"

They faced him as one. He hardly had a single injury on him. Even after their first assault, he hadn't even been scratched, and now, it seemed as if he were only getting stronger as they fought.

"Shit! We can't touch him…!" Sasuke cursed from beside them. Hinata had a hand to her chest, panting as she watched their opponent, her Byakugan still active, no doubt keeping an eye out for anyone else who might be approaching. Naruto looked to his left and Saw Sasuke likewise had his Sharingan active.

"Don't worry, as long as he doesn't catch us off guard, we can still win this," Naruto said confidently.

"Off guard? You mean like this?"

Their eyes went wide as the voice emanated from behind them. They didn't have time to turn before they were assaulted; Naruto tried to turn, but was thrown away before he could manage it, and Sasuke was swept to the side by a low kick.

Hinata had just enough time to try to attack but the man's arm lashed out and snapped around her neck, his iron grip immediately crushing her windpipe. Her hands went to his wrist, her fingers trying desperately to pry his hand from her neck.

"You know, when I think about it, killing weaklings like you might be beneath me, but I can't help but enjoy you trying to wriggle away." He chuckled in the back of his throat as he watched Hinata's eyes widen with the lack of oxygen, her pale orbs beginning to roll back into her skull.

The man smirked and tightened his grip, waiting to hear the beautiful snapping sound that a breaking neck made.

So focused was he on killing the girl in his grasp, that he missed the roaring blonde who appeared just between him and her, his blade only inches from severing his outstretched arm.

His eyes went wide as he retracted the appendage and backed away even as Naruto sliced through the air where his hand would have been.

"Don't… touch her…" Naruto growled dangerously. "DON'T FUCKING TOUCH HER!" He let loose a furious roar and his chakra began to spike ridiculously.

_'Hm? What's that boy think he's doing…?'_ he wondered curiously.

Naruto braced himself and lunged forward, his sword poised behind him and he swung in wide arcs. Hinata had fallen to the ground coughing and trying to catch her breath, he neck feeling as if it were still being crushed from afar. Sasuke was at her side in an instant, lifting her up and jumping away with her in his arms as Naruto went completely berserk on the man.

Sasuke, even with his pretty much non-existent reiatsu training, could feel, and _see_ the radiating energy that was pouring out of Naruto. He turned to Hinata worriedly. "Hinata, stay here, I'm going to help Naruto." She couldn't respond properly, so she gave a throaty sound of acknowledgement as she leaned against the truck of the tree that supported the limb they sat on, her hands on her chest and throat, massaging the tightened muscles so she could breathe again. Sasuke nodded and leapt back into the fray.

The opposing genin was doing well against Naruto, dodging most of his attacks and deflecting the rest. It wasn't until a _second_ Naruto appeared behind him arm already mid-swing that he began to get worried. "What…?"

He back-flipped away just in time, his skin tingling as he felt the blade just barely touch him. The two Narutos panted, their cleaving strikes having dealt tons of damage to nearby area; trees were slashed to bits, the ground carved into with deep gashes, and leaves of broken branches from above falling around them.

The man raised an eyebrow. "Kage bunshin? I see… so even prey like you can use a technique like that."

Naruto didn't respond, but brought his hands together, his index and middle fingers from both hands forming a cross in front of him. "**Kage bunshin no jutsu!**"

To man's surprise dozens of the blonde appeared in a haze around him, each one gazing down at him dangerously. Without a word, each one leapt at him with vicious attacks.

_'It seems things will be a bit harder than I'd originally expected. No matter…'_ the Kusagakure ninja thought confidently. He quickly leapt away from a trio of extending blades, even as they struck the ground not a second after he'd moved. Like a phalanx of swords, duos and trios of stabbing spears ripped through the air and woods as they sought their single target.

Those who didn't act as artillery leapt after him, pursuing him as tightly as they could. But no matter what formation they used, no matter what combination of sword strikes and stabs they sent his way, they just couldn't hit him. He was powerful, that much they all knew, but this was ridiculous.

Eventually one by one, the clones were defeated by swift strikes to their faces, not _too_ hard, but more than enough to dispel them.

Finally, all that was left was the original Naruto, who had taken it upon himself to chase the man personally.

The man abruptly brought himself to a stop. "That's enough of that."

Naruto closed in, leaping into the air to bring his blade down diagonally across the man's chest. He'd expected the man to dodge or step away as he'd been doing, but he was so caught off guard by him _not_ moving, he'd almost forgot to put full force behind his strikes. It almost looked like he was just going to… take it.

It happened too fast for him to see. Where the man's empty hand had been now lay a sword. An elegant weapon Naruto noted, though his mind was still a bit fuzzy with anger. He moved in to finish him off when he suddenly realized; moving hurt.

A shrill cry from behind him in the form of his name made him blink in realization. His gaze slowly lowered, tracing the enemy's blade from the hilt to its tip. But that was the strange thing; it didn't have a tip. Instead, it seemed to disappear… inside him.

His eyes widened as he realized; he'd been stabbed.

As if his body had been waiting for his brain to catch up, he felt a cough break from his chest and a thick liquid he could only think was blood tricked down the corner of his mouth, the sharp taste of iron assaulting his tongue.

The man smiled and pulled his arm back, unsheathing the blade from Naruto's torso. The sword came out with a spurt of blood.

The scream from before re-echoed through the forest. It was Hinata, her piercing cry doing nothing to make Naruto move. _'Shit…! My body won't respond…!'_ It was all he could do to bring his free hand up to his chest in a pathetic attempt to staunch the bleeding. His trembling legs gave out and he fell to his knees.

The man simply looked down at him for a moment before walking past him, apparently no longer interested in the blonde. He looked back up to where Hinata was leaned forward, her wide eyes disbelieving, her whole form shaking.

He simply grinned. "I hope you haven't forgotten my friend."

Hinata felt her blood run cold as she heard a soft, yet loud hissing from behind her right ear. She didn't have to turn her head to know it was the snake that had crawled into the trees earlier. She was too scared stiff to move, and all she could manage was a slight look back, as if hearing it wasn't confirmation enough for her. It hung from a higher limb, its tongue flicking in and out as it tasted the air around her. Suddenly, its mouth opened wide, its fangs unsheathing and already dripping with venom. Apparently it thought she smelled delicious.

Her heart stopped beating and her brain ceased functioning. She felt a fear come over her she'd never before encountered. The palms of her hands were wet with sweat, and her face exuded the salty liquid in numerous drops that slid down her cheeks and jaw, soaking her neckline even as her body's perspirant soaked other parts of her physiology.

It lunged forward, ready to eat her whole. Only a stream of burning flames snapped her from her frozen trance as it blew past her, hitting the snake and continuing, acting as a wall. The smell of scorched meat and scales wafted through her nostrils, even as Sasuke's voice rang in her ears.

"What are you doing Hinata? Grab Naruto and run!" Her muscles failed her only for a moment, dropping her to the ground before she picked herself back up and focused solely on that order. She stumbled off the tree branch and to the ground, running as fast she could toward the down-turned boy on the forest floor.

As she approached, the man stepped in front of her, as if daring her to try and get past him. "NOOO!" she cried, tears streaming from her face. If she didn't get to Naruto, he would surely die. She couldn't even bring herself to think he might _already_ be dead.

The man held his sword by his side, though his body tensed as if preparing to finish her off as she passed him. He was forced to look away as a roar from Sasuke and an accompanying stream of flames scorched towards him. He let out an amused sound in his throat as he leapt away, no longer paying attention to the girl or the wounded boy. His attention was now solely on Sasuke.

Sasuke yelled in rage as his cheeks inflated for only a second before a ball of fire the size of a small house broke from his lips. The effeminate genin was now _his_ sole target too.

Hinata stumbled over to Naruto's body, not even sparing concern for the flames she'd run through. She fell to her knees, scraping them as she slid to a stop by his body. "Naruto! NARUTO!"

He didn't respond, his eyes were open and blank, staring straight ahead at nothing as he lay on his chest. She turned him over, revealing a large pool of blood below him and his shirt soaked with blood. A sob escaped her lips along with numerous denials that he was dying, or worse, dead. She removed his vest roughly, as she stared at his black shirt, the blood creating a thick wetness within the fabric. She ripped it down the middle and saw the deceptively small wound on his chest, right where his heart was.

A wave of heat from behind her was ignored as she brought her hands to her chest and placed them over the narrow cut, her tears now freely falling from her face and mingling with the freshly spilled blood. "No! Don't die Naruto! Don't you dare die! I love you! _I love you!_" But she received no answer from his clouded eyes.

The thudding of his heart that she should have felt beneath her hands was absent, and the blood was starting to slow, though in this case that wasn't a good thing. Slowly the realization dawned on her, and she threw her head and arms over his body, wails of sadness choking from her throat. Her denying screams reverberating against the cold uncaring forest. Explosions boomed behind her, sending nauseating waves of heat washing over her as she held the body of her love close to her.

Deep within him, something stirred.

* * *

Deep crimson eyes cracked open, as if from deep slumber. How long had it been since he'd spoken to someone? How long had it been since he was locked up? How long had he been trapped here in this condemnable hell?

The answer to all of those was _too long._ He hadn't minded the solitude; he preferred it. But in his current predicament, it wasn't his primary choice. The figure in front of him stood silently, as if reluctant to even be in his presence. It was understandable. He didn't know anyone who wasn't afraid of him.

His eyes narrowed in disinterest, as if the figure's very company was boring. "You…"

The figure nodded. It was noticeably a female, with silky black hair that ended at the small over her back and a tan kimono covering her frame. The article of clothing cut off just below her knees and left a generous amount of cleavage revealed, but he wasn't interested in that.

Her face was deceptively calm, yet serious… almost commanding.

"Yes, me," She replied quietly.

"…What do you want?" It was painfully obvious she wanted something, or else she wouldn't even be here. He may have been slumbering for the longest time, but he wasn't stupid.

She was silent for several seconds, her face solemn. That was all he needed; he already knew.

"Hmhmhm… Why should I help?" He raised his head with a smirk, staring down his nose at her.

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Because you know you don't have a choice. You either help him or we all die."

He held back a snort of amusement and closed his eyes uncaringly. "Is that so? I would have expected you'd be able to handle a few scratches on your own."

She glared at him dangerously. "I'm not a healer. I can only slow the bleeding. And a pierced heart doesn't classify as a mere 'scratch'."

"Hmph. Well, I don't really feel like dying, so I guess I'll help the human out, a little."

A look of relief flashed across the woman's face for only an instant before she replaced it, but he'd already seen it. "Don't get the wrong idea. I'm not healing him just so he can rush back into battle and we have this conversation again. I'll heal him a bit and leave the rest to you. I'm tired."

He turned his head away, leaning on an arm as his eyes drifted shut.

The woman was silent for some time before she spoke again. "…Thank you."

The Kyuubi only smirked, his fanged teeth peeking out from behind his lips as he settled back down to sleep. Shinsō walked out of the massive atrium and back into the great labyrinth of Naruto's soul, leaving the slumbering Bijuu king far behind her.

* * *

Hinata's woeful mourning was startled to a halt as his body began to heat up, his skin almost burning her as his body glowed an unearthly crimson, like the usual coating of golden light he had when he used his spiritual powers, but at the same time… so foreign feeling.

Almost immediately after, his limbs began to jerk spasmodically, his fingers clenching and unclenching independent of one another and slam against the ground.

Her tears still flowed from her eyes, even as her mind feebly tried to make sense of what was happening. She got off of him just as the convulsions started, but her attention was soon drawn to his chest where the soaking wound slowly seemed to vanish. The blood that had spilled out began to dry and flake away, as if it was being superheated, and beneath it the wound glowed with an even greater intensity than the rest of his body.

Her gaze was wide as the skin sealed itself shut before her very eyes. His whole body began to jerk violently until there was an audible thumping, and she realized it was his heart; it was pounding so hard she could hear it above her tumultuous surroundings. Finally, after all too long of an eternity, his chest heaved and he breathed in, as if he'd just taken a breath of air for the first time in his life.. The light died away quietly and he was left on the ground his chest expanding and contracting deeply, and his heart hammering against his ribcage.

The shine returned to his eyes and he stared blankly at the forest canopy above. After a long time of silence and inaction, he blinked. Unsurely at first. His eyes slid from side to side, as if he didn't know what to think, or what to say. It was decided for him as he was assaulted by the love of his life; she threw herself onto him, crying happy tears of relief. She tried to speak, but all that came out was stuttering babble. She clutched his tattered shirt in both hands as she buried her face in his chest, rubbing it back and forth on impulse, her smooth glossy hair feeling immensely soothing to his pained torso. Her eyes were clenched shut, as if opening them would reveal his living to be only a fantasy.

Not knowing what to do or say, he simply settled for placing a weak hand on her back and rubbing it softly. "H-hey, it's ok. I'm… I'm still here." He almost choked on his own words, his throat feeling incredibly dry, save for the bitter taste of iron that flicked across his tongue.

Hinata bawled her eyes out on his chest, unable to control her emotions from spilling out with her tears. She hadn't even noticed the noise of battle behind her had ceased. When her tears finally slowed enough for her to lift her head from his chest, she saw his eyes slowly flutter closed, as if it was all he could do to keep them open. She blinked worriedly as his hand on her back fell to the ground and his head turned slightly as his muscles relaxed. "Eh…? N-Naruto…?"

He didn't respond, but the slow rising and falling of his chest signified that he was sleeping, or more likely unconscious.

Then, with realization, her head jerked back up and she looked around desperately "S-Sasuke! Where are you, Sasuke?"

There was no answer for several seconds and she immediately thought the worst. Her body froze up again at the prospect that he too might be dead. But she thankfully didn't have time to concern herself with it as the rustling of leaves behind her drew her attention instantly.

She turned frightfully fast, ready to defend herself if it was the Kusagakure genin again. To her immense relief, it was Sasuke, but something was wrong.

He was sweating profusely and breathing laboriously. His right hand clutched his right shoulder tightly and winced in pain with every breath. "Hi-…Hi…nata…"

His voice came out as a whisper and he fell to his knees with a cry of pain before he could say anything else. Hinata quickly rushed to his side and held him steady unsure of what to do. Delicately prying his fingers from his neck to see his wound, she found, to her shock, only two small bite marks and a strange tattoo that she knew for a fact wasn't there before. It was a circle of three identical tomoe, each chasing the tail of the one in front of it.

She stared at it, not knowing what to do. She was surprised when Sasuke feebly tried to shove her out of the way. "…be-hind… you…!"

Hinata felt her spine straighten as she felt someone's eyes on her back. She turned, dread filling her as her wide, terrified eyes spotted the image of the long, black haired genin.

What surprised her even more was the fact that his face was half melted off, but what really terrified her was that his left eye seemed much different from his right. His right eye now had skin sloughing over it, and as such was invisible, but his left eyes was unlike what it had looked like before. Unlike the rest of his face, the skin around that eye was peeling off, revealing completely untarnished, pale skin beneath. A small purple lining ringed his eye, and its golden-amber color revealed a slit-pupil, not unlike a snake.

"I'll admit," he began casually as he stepped over to Naruto's immobile form, "I had fun testing your powers." He eyed the breathing blonde curiously, staring at where the wound he'd given him should have been, but was no longer there. He stooped down to run his fingers along the Naruto's chest, fingering the flesh that sealed over his heart. He drew his hand back and rubbed his fingers together slowly.

"This chakra… the texture…" He looked back down to the blond with half-wide eyes. "I see… So the Nine-tailed brat lives. No wonder he's still alive."

Hinata instantly felt rage build up within her, rage that he would even dare touch Naruto's body. "G-get away from him!" she yelled violently as she unknowingly stood to her feet.

The man looked up and eyed her for a moment before chuckling, ignoring her command. His hand rustled through Naruto's back pocket for a second before withdrawing their scroll. "Sasuke, you have a pair of eyes that possess a quality beyond even Itachi."

Hinata saw Sasuke tense in anger. But Hinata's question was _'Who's Itachi?'_

The man held their heaven scroll out and small purple flames began to spread across it. "My name is Orochimaru, and if you want to meet me again, then pass this test, and defeat the three Sound genin who've been entered as well."

Hinata pulled out a kunai in both hands, prepared to fight this "Orochimaru" guy away from Naruto. He simply stared at her in amusement. "Relax. I mean him no harm. I want Sasuke to pass this test now, and killing one of you will simply make that more difficult."

"What did you do to Sasuke?" she demanded, a hint of fear trickling into her voice. If Orochimaru noticed it, he didn't say anything.

"I gave him a small gift. Something only I can give. Think of it as a going-away present." He dropped the charred scroll to the round where it literally fell to ashes. "Sasuke will seek me out for power, eventually…" His feet suddenly blurred before sinking into the ground, as if he were merging with the earth itself.

"I'd suggest you put those two someplace safe…" he said as he looked directly at Hinata now, even as his head disappeared beneath the ground. "…if you don't want to get caught out in the open."

Hinata felt the last bit of terror course through her body as his presence disappeared. She was suddenly left with only a feeling of lonesome emptiness. Sasuke was injured, obvious from the way he groveled and held back cries of what must have been intense pain; Naruto was unconscious and wounded, however healed he may have seemed to be, and who knew when he'd be combat-ready again?

That left only her. Alone.

As soon as she realized that, she immediately knew her duty. She slowed her breathing and calmed herself, shaking the dressing tears from her eyes. _'I have to protect them, both of them!'_ Looking around quickly, she picked Sasuke up and let him lean on her shoulder as she went over to Naruto and struggled to get him on her back.

She felt her legs tremble beneath their weight as she grunted strenuously. _'Ugh…! So… heavy…!'_

She bit through the effort and dragged them all the way back to their hovel, which while not too far, was much further than she'd anticipated. It probably would have been easier to make a new shelter nearby. But, she also knew that with the raging fires, noisy explosions and signs of combat, more genin from other villages would soon show up like carrion birds to pick out what was left.

She couldn't fight them on her own, and so she needed to hide the three of them.

Once back inside, she resealed the entrance and sank to her knees. Her legs felt like jelly, and she knew she wouldn't be able to relocate them easily if the need arose. Aware of that, she took off their equipment pouches and placed them under their heads as makeshift pillows. Taking her own pouch off and placing it beside her and went about the difficult task of taking care of them.

This would be a long night for all of them.

* * *

The silver haired genin stood off a long way away from the chaos and shook his head, smirking. _'Ah, Orochimaru-sama likes to play too much. More than _just_ the Sound team will show up to fight them… I wonder what he'd do if he inadvertently got Sasuke killed?'_ He snickered to himself quietly and leaned off of his tree, turning back to his two teammates.

"You two can go ahead and go to the tower. I want to watch what happens next." They both nodded and vanished into the trees.

Kabuto smirked. "I hope you all survive the night," he said quietly, staring at the mound of earth beneath the tree's roots that was team seven's hideaway. "You're all a fun bunch after all…"

It was an honest statement.

* * *

The night was long and difficult. Sasuke had a running fever and couldn't rest at all, even in his sleep, and Naruto had numerous coughing fits through the night as well. She took a look at his chest and found not all of his tissue had been healed, and while it was doing so now, it was irritating him from the inside out, like an itch he couldn't scratch. Not to mention his heart had only been healed enough for him to live. The organ had been stitched together with chakra, but hadn't been completely sealed back together. She knew from experience that Naruto healed from most wounds in a day or two, but something like this would take much longer. She estimated at least a week, and that was being generous.

She squeezed out the rag in her hands and laid it back on Sasuke's forehead carefully. It wasn't strenuous work so much as it was difficult to keep an eye on all the things that could possibly go wrong with them, _and_ keep an eye on the surroundings in the forest. She was quickly at her limit in the realm of chakra.

Soon, she wouldn't have much stamina left to even stick to a tree, so she'd been forced to simply let her normal senses keep track for her. She'd been tempted numerous times to simply crawl between the two of them and fall asleep on Naruto's chest, but she knew she couldn't fall asleep. She had to keep watch for the two of them.

She nodded off several times, each time sitting up, and each time waking up to the falling sensation she felt as her body almost toppled atop Naruto. She'd given herself quite a few harsh slaps to the face to keep awake, but it only worked so well; she knew she wouldn't be able to keep this up for much longer.

Little did she know, she wouldn't need to.

Outside, the three genin marched forward, their Otogakure headbands proudly stationed on their foreheads.

"Finally… found them," Dosu said in almost-exasperation. They searched all day and night and only now could they find them, and then only because of the massive battle that had created such a commotion. A dirt mound such as that one would normally go unnoticed, but Dosu could tell the dirt was still wet, and had yet to dry out. That meant it had recently been moved. It didn't take a genius to put two and two together. Though, to confirm what he thought, he could also hear the minute sounds coming from within. _'Three people at most… One moving… the other two are asleep, judging from their breath rhythms.'_

"So we attack at dawn?" Zaku asked as he crossed his arms impatiently.

"As per Orochiamru's orders, yes. Uchiha Sasuke is the target."

"And we can kill the other two if they get in our way?" Kin asked, twirling a small senbon between her fingers.

"Naturally."

Zaku smiled as he turned to look at the rising sun far to the east. "Hehe, let's do this then!"

They stood ready, waiting for the sun to peak its golden head across the horizon.

* * *

The three of them stopped at the raised hand of the unofficial team leader.

"What is it, Neji?" TenTen asked from behind the Hyuuga.

"Are there nearby enemies?" Lee asked as well from beside him.

Neji was silent for a few moments before closing his eyes. "…Enemies indeed. Though I doubt they're worth our time."

"Well, even if they're not, if they have the scroll we need, it's not a bad idea to just take it from them," TenTen reasoned.

Neji frowned as he looked as the scroll they had. It was indeed the one they needed. "It's the wrong scroll anyway. We shouldn't waste our time."

TenTen and Lee both shared curious glances. Only they would probably notice, but the way Neji spoke almost seemed as if he were trying to avoid fighting. Both of them stopped behind him, prompting him to stop as well.

"What is it?" he asked curiously. No enemies were nearby, and it was doubtful they'd sensed something he hadn't seen. They fixed him with concerned looks. "Neji who's over there?" TenTen asked, almost leaving no room for refusal to answer.

Neji looked away slightly, not wanting to tell them the real reason. "No one special."

Lee placed his hands on his hips before guessing. "It's your cousin's team isn't it? You always act a certain way when the Main House is mentioned, and you're acting that way right now."

Neji let a smirk cross his lips as he'd guessed right. Well, partly… "My cousin's team doesn't even have a scroll. The team that's attacking them does."

"And it's the scroll that we need?" TenTen fixed him with a gaze that wouldn't take any lies.

"Yes."

"Then let's go and get it! Whoever wins will be tired of fighting and be easy to beat."

Neji let a rare chuckle reverberate from his chest. "It wouldn't even be a fight."

Both other genin blinked in surprise. "What do you mean?"

Neji looked back at Lee with an almost-amused look. "She's the only one left standing. Both of her squad mates are injured, and the other team is those three Sound ninja. She's barely even conscious and she doesn't know they're there; the fact is, she's a goner."

Both TenTen and Lee looked at Neji with disappointment in their eyes. They knew he hated the Main Branch, and could sympathize with him, but to leave the poor girl to die alone while her teammates were injured? That was harsh by even their standards.

"Going there would only result in us saving her, and I can't accept that. Now if we're done talking, let's find someone else to get our scroll from."

He turned around without another word and leapt away, leaving little option for the other two but to do the same. Even so, Lee was unhappy with his team leader's decision. He leaned in close to TenTen and murmured into her ear. "TenTen, I'm going to go help the girl. I understand Neji's hatred, but this is a bit unfair I think. Besides, they _did_ help us before the first exam. It wouldn't be right to simply leave her alone against three others when her team is down."

TenTen honestly couldn't disagree with him, but she didn't like the idea of him going off on his own. But in the end she let out a sigh and nodded. Lee saw it and leapt away. "Tell Neji I'm very sorry," he said as he disappeared into the trees to her right.

Only a few seconds later, Neji cocked his head to the side. "TenTen, where is Lee going?"

TenTen swallowed lightly before speaking, fearing the Hyuuga's anger. "He's going to go help her. He doesn't think it's fair to leave her alone."

Neji stopped on a high branch, his fists clenched and teeth grinding. "That idiot…!" Without warning he turned and leapt off after his teammate, a bewildered TenTen in tow. "W-wait! Nejjiii~!"

She called after him as she followed, hoping Lee made it there before Neji caught up to stop him. She really couldn't disagree with Lee's opinion after all. She was still human.

* * *

Her eyes just wouldn't stay open. No matter what she did, she found her eyelids sinking lower and lower, her head beginning to nod as she simply couldn't stand against sleep any longer. As she stared down, her fuzzy vision seeing only the basic imaged for Naruto's chest, she couldn't help thinking how comfortable it would be to just lay her head down on it and sleep. Slowly, her body began to think the same thing, and she began to topple over.

Only when the sudden spike of malice from outside made itself known did she find a sudden surge of adrenalin forcing itself through her veins. Her droopy eyes snapped open and she felt new strength flood through her limbs.

"Wakey-wakey!" She had just enough time to shield her eyes before the dirt wall exploded in her face, even as she instinctively move to shield her resting teammates' bodies.

The dirt settled, as did her subsequent coughs, and she saw her attackers; the three Sound genin from the first test. _'The same ones who injured Kabuto-san,'_ she realized as they stood across the small dirt area.

The man in the middle, whose face was masked in bandages, save his left eye, cocked his head to the side as he addressed her. "Be a good girl and wake Sasuke up, would you? We want to fight him."

Hinata grimaced as she tried to put on a strong face, and consequently realized how weak her body was at the moment. "I… won't let you…!" She meant for it to sound viscously defensive, but it only came out as a strained growl. "That man… Orochimaru, right? He did this to us! What is his goal?"

At that, the three genin's faces went rigid with shock and their limbs stiffened instinctively. "You know about Orochimaru?" the younger looking boy questioned darkly, a shadow passing over his eyes as he stared the girl down.

The female on the team, who sported long black hair with a boy close to the bottom looked to her two teammates with concern. "We should kill them, right?"

The bandaged mummy-looking one took a few careful steps forward, as if his goal had becomes so much more important. "Probably… But our target is definitely Sasuke." He pulled the sleeve of his right arm back, revealing a thick metal gauntlet. "Let's make this quick."

As if that were an unspoken signal, they all rushed forward, intent on overpowering her in one, swift blow. She grit her teeth as the Sound girl's feet stepped on a particular patch of ground. Instantly a large explosion blew from under them, its action echoing several times as the whole clearing in front of team seven's hideaway lit up like the minefield it was, spewing dirt high into the forest canopy.

Hinata shielded her eyes briefly, wondering if the traps had actually worked. They had been set up before they'd ever settled down the previous day, and had been waiting patiently for someone to set them off. Pressure-plate paper bombs; quite the nifty weapon Sasuke had brought along for the exam.

Before she could relax, the air around her became suddenly heavy and the falling dirt blew away with a mighty gust of wind. But what alarmed her was the chakra inside the air. It was very dense.

The dust cleared to reveal the entirety of the Sound team, relatively unharmed, save a few scuff and scorch marks on their clothes and skin. "Geez, making me reveal my ability with a weak-ass booby-trap like that… That pisses me off!"

"You didn't have a choice Zaku; if you hadn't increased the air pressure on top of the ground, the explosion would have been much worse," The bandaged one said to the other boy, no known as Zaku. "You two stay back. A trap like that doesn't leave room for other traps, so I doubt there are any more." He stepped forward, his arms hanging at his side.

"I'll take her on my own."

He rushed forward, bringing his gauntleted arm to bear. Hinata steadied herself and pushed her tired arms into their customary stance. "**Hakke…**" She brought one arm back and drew on her limited chakra. "**…Kūshō!**" With a shout, she thrust her open palm forward, sending a blast of chakra the man's way.

He raised the same arm and held it in front of himself, bracing through the impact which was, to his surprise, not as powerful as he'd thought it would be.

Hinata huffed as she felt her chakra drop dangerously low. _'Naruto was right, I shouldn't use that technique… ow!'_ She winced as her body began to react to her lack of stamina. _'I can't waste any more moves, and I can't use much chakra at all.'_ She considered activating her Byakugan, but even as she tried pushing chakra to her eyes, she found there was hardly anything there to push. _'I don't even have chakra for my Byakugan?'_

Dosu lowered his arm, looking at it and checking the make-shift shield over. Seeing no evident damage he looked back to the girl in front of him. "Seems you're running dangerously low on chakra there. Tell you what; wake Sasuke up to fight us and we'll leave you alone."

Hinata shook her head without hesitation, perhaps a bit too quickly; she felt her head spin slightly. "That's… out of the question…" she said between breaths. _'Even if I say that…'_ she backed up an inch or two, knowing she would have a hard time fighting off the man in front of her. _'I don't have much chakra left. But… I do have some reiryoku. Not much, but… I think, if I'm careful…'_

She closed her eyes and concentrated, drawing on the powerful force that Gin and Naruto had taken great strides to teach her to use. _'Focus. Focus on the energy itself…'_

Even as she thought it, a pale purple energy began to seep from her feet, rising like steam around her. When she opened her eyes she felt her veins surge with the other energy, her Byakugan once again coursing to life.

Instantly she saw things much differently. Only a few times had she tried using reiryoku to power her normal abilities that would normally require chakra, and every time they either worked half-way, or didn't work at all. But she'd never tried using her Byakugan with reiryoku. What she saw would have left her mouth agape in shock. All around her, the colorful energies she was letting off flowed about, coursing in and out of trees, plants, animals and even her. The three in front of her had bright flickering flames in their chests, where the sources of their spiritual energies were, and she assumed they were bright because they were well rested and already drawing on chakra to fight.

She took a look at herself and saw her own chest light up bright at the center, turning from faded purple to bright violet. Behind her Naruto and Sasuke both had strong pulses of spiritual power, revealing that they were perfectly alive and stable. She felt sudden relief, knowing they weren't in any danger. Their bodies didn't show the true nature of their health, so she was reassured to see them plainly alright; whatever physical symptoms they had weren't life threatening.

Dosu saw the purple vapor as only a haze, and took it for some sort of mist-like water technique, or something like it. It could even be a heat technique and was evaporating the sweat on her body, turning it into steam.

"…Or not. Looks like you've still got some fight left in you. Guess this won't be a complete slaughter." He raised both arms to his sides and prepared to charge. But even as the thought entered his head, he was surprised to see _her_ charge at _him._ He was taken off guard as she ran at him.

"Haaa!" She knew she couldn't use reiryoku in her Jyuuken, so that would require chakra. But by gathering reiryoku within her and storing it, she found herself able to save the chakra she would have otherwise needed to propel herself forward for her attacks. Her palm thrusts struck only air or metal as he evaded and blocked the attacks.

She remembered quite well how he'd been able to take down Kabuto with one blow, and it hadn't even landed; she couldn't let him attack and use that ability again.

"You're pretty good at taijutsu, I'll give you that. But…"

Hinata felt the hair on her neck tickle, and she saw, through her Byakugan, the Zaku boy line up an open palm with her body. At first she wondered what he was going to do, but then she saw the dense chakra build up in the small tubes that he had in his hands.

Her eyes widened as a blast of concussive wind blasted her in the side, even as she barely had time to prepare herself for it.

"…I'm not alone," Dosu finished.

Hinata tumbled to the ground, her body skidding to a half a bit away. She got up, tasting the bitter iron-like taste of her blood enter her mouth. She shakily got back to her feet and saw that she'd been knocked away from in front of her teammates. With realization, she dashed back to stand between the encroaching team her hers. _'They're trying to push me away from them!'_

"Heh, she just keeps coming back for more," Zaku said with derision. "Face it girl, you aren't gonna be able to beat one of us, let alone all three. You should've taken us up on our offer while you had the chance, but now you're gonna die."

She breathed heavily and got back in her stance. "I won't leave them!" she yelled back defensively. "They're my team, my family! There's no way I could abandon them! Even if it costs me my life, I'll protect them with everything I have!"

Zaku's grin faltered, switching into a frown. "Tch, girls like you piss me off…"

"Well, it doesn't matter much anyway," Dosu commented to his comrade. Zaku gave him a curious look, to which Dosu simply smirked under his mask. "I've already won."

Hinata heard the comment and was about to respond when her ears began to burn with pain and her vision suddenly went haywire. Almost instantly she felt as if the whole world was balancing on the tip of a needle, and the earth was giving away beneath her.

She felt to the ground, her unstable legs giving out suddenly. Even as she tried to stand up, she simply couldn't balance at all.

"Your moves are fast, but ours are faster." He lifted his gauntleted arm and showed it to her, for what her warped vision was worth. "There's a little trick here. Its sound; even if you dodge my fist, the sound will hit you instead."

She tried sitting up on her knees, and managed to barely stay up like that, even as she felt a rivulet of blood drip from her ears.

"Do you know what sound is, exactly? Its _vibration._ Hearing sound simply means that your eardrum is catching the shaking air around you. The human eardrum will shatter at anything greater than one hundred and fifty megahertz. Even deeper though is the inner ear membrane. When this is damaged, you'll lose your balance. I'm sure you've heard that those who have bad balance have an inner ear problem. That's correct."

Hinata tried to calm her breathing and opened her mouth to speak, only for her eyes to widen as she felt her stomach clench up tightly. She threw he head forward and vomited strongly, losing most of whatever was left in her stomach from dinner the previous night. The smell of her own sick was so strong it actually helped to clear her head a little, which made her almost want to puke again. She swallowed whatever was in her mouth and tried to wipe it clean. "Whe… when did you…?"

Dosu tapped the device on his arm again, making little pings of sound as his fingernail hit the metal. "This arm multiplies small sounds produced to their ultimate level. You could call it a kind of speaker. But the sound doesn't follow the direction of the arm. I use my chakra to direct it into you."

"B-but… I didn't let you-" she placed her hands on her mouth as she almost puked again, but managed hold her stomach fluids in.

Dosu understood what she was insinuating and answered for her, seeing as merely talking was clearly causing her difficulties. "When your palms hit the metal, they made small, usually ignorable clapping sounds, however… " He flicked the metal and it made a high-pitched _ping._ "The sound was amplified multiple times over, and even while you were attacking, I was able to attack you back."

Zaku walked over right next to Hinata and held his hand down, palm toward her. She narrowed her eyes, trying to see what he was showing her. In the center of his palm was a small hollow circle, likely a tube of some sort that went into his arm. "I can freely control supersonic sound waves and air density. I can easily destroy boulders with it. The operation to get these babies was a bit of a hassle, but…"

Her eyes widened as she saw traces of distorted air begin to exit the barrel. His hand slammed into the side of her face, the extreme force of the included explosion of air sent her flying back, smashing into the tree above her teammates. A cry of pain escaped her lips as she fell to the ground in a heap, the pact earth doing nothing to cushion her fall.

"…It makes for one hell of a bitch-slap!" He snickered at his own joke as Dosu walked closer to the small hole that contained the two boys.

"Now that that's done, time to take care of business." He walked over to the hole and bent to enter when his foot stuck fast to the ground. He looked down to see Hinata's hand gripping his ankle as tightly as she could. "I…I won't… let… you…!"

Dosu almost sighed in annoyance and Zaku stomped over angrily. "You're still alive? Little bitch…!" He raised his hand to shoot her again when Dosu held his arm out to stop him.

"That's enough Zaku. Her grip's not all that strong anyway." He bent down and pried her fingers loose easily, throwing he hand away. "But she fought hard against such overwhelming odds, so I'll give her a reward."

He bent down and placed his right hand on the top of her head, gently rustling her hair almost playfully. "Night-night~…"

He flicked the corner of the steel gauntlet. The ringing sound echoed through the impromptu arena for several seconds before her eyes closed and her body went limp. Dosu stood and turned back to the hole.

Zaku sent a disapproving look his partner's way. "The hell was that? Why not just kill her?"

Dosu shook his head. "I did her a favor and put her to sleep to escape the pain. If you want to kill her that's your business, but it's not very manly to kill a harmless girl."

Zaku growled but crossed his arms unhappily. "Whatever! Kin will kill her then, since she's a girl."

Kin placed a hand on her hip in irritation. "Oh, so _now_ you think I'm useful. Gee how nice of you."

"Just hurry up and kill her, I'm sick of seeing her still breathing."

Kin rolled her eyes and walked over, sitting on the prone girl's back and lifting her head up by the hair. She paused, feeling it as it flowed in her fingers. "Man, you're right, she pisses me off; shiny hair like this… and so soft too! Nothing at all like mine." He took out a kunai and lifted her head even more, exposing her neck.

"See? Told you!"

Kin snorted. "Well, maybe I'll take her hair as a trophy, or is that too brutal?" She hesitated as she looked to Zaku, as if his opinion mattered.

He shrugged. "Hey, it's girl-on-girl action; I'll watch whatever it is."

Kin shook her head in annoyance. "I expected that kind of answer, but I'm not into necrophilia." She brought the knife to her throat and pressed, feeling the blade sink into her skin.

"**Konoha Senp****ū!**"

The next thing she knew, she was flying throw the air, a spike of pain knocking through her head. She landed on the ground with an _oof!_ followed by two other similar exclamations.

"W-what the hell?" She sat up painfully only to see a green clad boy standing between them and both the girl and her sleeping teammates.

"Attacking those who cannot defend themselves… You all need to work harder for your success!"

Zaku grimaced as he rubbed his ribs, bringing himself to a standing position. "…Who's this loser?"

The boy smirked and raised his right hand in a "bring it on" gesture. "Konoha's Beautiful Green Beast, Rock Lee!"

He smirked as he stared them down. "Pleasure to meet you!"

* * *

It was a strange dream, and he was beginning to think it wasn't even that. He was inside their little hiding hole they'd made in the forest, but what was strange were the circumstances.

He felt the ground beneath him as he lay beneath the tree's roots, and all he could see and hear were vague flashes of sight and sound. A flash of blood… a cry of pain… mumbled words… More of the same. But what made him anxious was that the screams of pain always sounded like Hinata.

If this was a dream, he wanted nothing more than to wake up from it. But he knew he wasn't dreaming. Not strictly anyway. His body was probably sensing outside events and turning them into dreams. _'If that's so then… Hinata's in danger!'_

He tried to turn his head; nothing. Neither could he open his eyes, move his hands, his legs… nothing. He could only lay there and do nothing. _'C'mon, move! Move damnit!'_

Another scream.

_'Damn it! Do something! Anything!'_

But his body ignored him, as if spiting his raging orders. He felt something warm drip on his face, and he was sure it was blood. His voice choked up, even mentally as he tried to move. It was as if he were shackled down with innumerable weights, chained to the forest floor. He struggled against the invisible ties, straining to break through them… to move them, budge them. He couldn't do it. He shouted to the invisible heavens above him as he wracked his body for the strength to act.

Suddenly another image came to him. But this wasn't some vague vision of outside. In fact, it was all too familiar…

It was _him._ He walked forward before stopping in the shadows of his mind, far from him. Naruto looked at himself with desperate eyes, not understanding what was going on. His reflection shook his head and he heard amused chuckles echo through his mind.

**"Wow… you can't do anything right."**

Then all he saw was white.

* * *

"Lee!" TenTen shouted as she landed the branch above the battlefield, Neji standing there as well, staring down dangerously at the three Sound genin.

"I can't believe this. A few weak Sound ninja bullying a weak little girl and declaring victory?"

The three Oto shinobi looked up to the two new enemies and Zaku nearly groaned in irritation. "They keep coming like cockroaches."

Neji looked over to where Lee lay on the ground, his ears bleeding and his limbs unmoving, but no doubt alive. "You made a mistake…"

Dosu raised his lone eyebrow curiously. "Hm?"

"That knocked out freak right there is on our team." His Byakugan rose to life, his teeth clenching in anger. "And you'll pay for that!"

The Sound team flinched slightly as they saw his eyes, though not too surprised, having face the pale skinned girl before. "Oh look, another pair of those eyes. Are you a family member?" Dosu gestured to the body of Hinata nearby, a small pool of blood below her.

Neji narrowed his eyes. "Not by choice." After a few seconds he shook his head. "So she isn't dead… how regrettable."

Dosu blinked in surprise. Was there that much bad blood between the two? "Geez, don't sound so happy about it."

Neji opened his eyes and looked at the mummy-faced genin. "Make no mistake, I take no pride in it, but it's my duty to protect that girl, regardless of my own opinions. She's _almost _dead though… perhaps if I'd delayed a minute more…"

"Neji…!" TenTen warned quietly. His grudges were his grudges, but surely he had to know if they were even a second later, then Lee would also be dead.

Neji turned to his fmale teammate and caught her gaze. He closed his eyes and smirked. "Oh well, what's done is done. Time to take out the trash…"

Suddenly his eyes went wide in shocked astonishment. _'W-what..? What is…?' _

TenTen saw her teammate tense in surprise and his expression change, and it concerned her. What had he seen? "What's wrong Neji?"

He barely formed the words as his eyes locked on one single figure in the clearing. "This… This chakra…!"

She blinked at him and turned to see what he was staring so intently at. When she saw it, her breath caught in her chest, causing her muscles lock up.

"So? Don't talk so mighty from a high spot. Come on down here."

"…No…" Neji said, regaining a least a sliver of his former appearance. "That… no longer appears necessary…"

Though only TenTen saw it, his feet twitched backwards just an inch. She couldn't blame him. "I-is that…?"

Zaku glared up at Neji with a bored expression, mixed with annoyance. That was before he felt the immense gravity of the air around him, as if air pressure had suddenly increased, and it hadn't been him that did it. "What the…?" He steadied himself as the pressure increased bit by bit.

Dosu looked back to his comrade, but saw only the same confused expression her too wore. He didn't even bother looking at Kin; she wasn't capable of something like this. Finally, his lone eye spotted movement, but it was coming from the hollow hiding place they'd been so adamantly kept out of.

A single figure stooped down to avoid hitting its head on the low tree root that helped to form part of the hole's roof, placing its hand on it to steady itself. From behind him swept a powerful aura, one like Dosu hadn't felt for a long while. Not since he once saw Orochimaru get serious.

_'How long ago has that been?'_ he thought to himself.

The figure stepped out into the light, revealing _it_ to be a _him._ He looked left and right, as if searching for something. His eyes rested on the unmoving bodies of both that Rock Lee fellow and the girl. His gaze lingered on her for only second before he raised his head to look at them all, everyone in the clearing.

"Who's this chump?" Zaku said, putting on a face of amusement.

"That's not Sasuke is it?" Kin asked. Only Dosu knew what Sasuke looked like, so she looked to him for confirmation.

Dosu shook his head. "No, that's definitely not Sasuke… it must be their other teammate."

The figure smacked his hand against his forehead and grumbled loudly. **"For the love of-… The little shit wants to enter a deadly exam and ends up having everyone else protect his ass! And he doesn't even know how to control his powers!"**He shook his head dramatically, raising the same hand he'd smacked himself with to the sky as if begging the heavens to save him. **"I can't believe this… The punk's totally _worthless!_" **

He looked at the three assembled genin in front of him and grinned maniacally. **"Well, nothin' to do 'bout it now. Guess I gotta tear some shit up. But first…" **He looked to his left and gestured his hand out to the bleeding-out form of Hinata and made a sort of apathetic smile at the nearly dead body. **"…It'd be a pain to me if she got caught in the crossfire and died."**

Neji's eyes widened when all of a sudden there was a surge of chakra from the boy's body and more chakra suddenly appeared below Hinata. What happened next threw him for a complete loop. Her body disappeared. Completely. She didn't move, or get moved, since he would have seen that, but it was as if her entire existence had been erased. _'W-what just happened?'_

**"Now that that's done…"** He turned back to the gathered with an insane, blood-lusting look. **"…Let's get to killin'!"**

Dosu braced himself for an attack, but was surprised to see Zaku run past him, sliding to a stop in front of the boy and aiming a palm at his face point blank.

"Eat shit! **Zankūha!**"

And intense beam of air pressure blasted him directly in the face, but Neji saw it all; the chakra in the boy's body didn't fluctuate in the slightest. More specifically, he saw it travel directly to his eyes, which he thought was completely _strange._

Neji blinked as he saw something else gather around the blonde. It wasn't chakra, but it seemed to be almost energy-like until it solidified on the side of his face. Without the Byakugan, he saw it was a white substance that gathered together around his face, as if it were some sort of mask covering that were growing on him.

As the smoke cleared, Zaku's eyes widened when he saw the boy's forehead pressed solidly against his palm. _'The hell?'_

Dosu stumbled back slightly in shock. _'Don't tell me…! He head-butted the attack away?'_

**"Care to try again?"** he asked with a nasty smile. Zaku clenched his teeth as he retreated, only for the boy to grab the same hand that had just been pressed against his brow. **"Too slow!"**

He brought his own hand up to Zaku's face and grinned savagely. **"My turn!"**

There was a short pause before it happened.

**"Shinra Tensei!"**

The entire arena exploded, a lone form escaping the resulting dust cloud and smashing into a tree in the distance.

"Zaku!" Dosu cried out in worry. "Kin! Back up!"

**"HAHA! Blew him the fuck up!"**

The blonde boy turned and saw Dosu rushing him, bringing his gauntlet up to bear. The Oto nin swung hard, and it made contact.

The boy caught it with his left hand, gripping Dosu's fist in his own. The Sound nin growled and brought his fingers up to his face in a one-handed ram seal. Focusing his chakra, the holes on the metal construct on his arm hissed, spewing out a high-pitched whine that he poured his chakra into.

"I win," he announced after a few seconds. But the boy's expression didn't change. Dosu blinked and looked down at his arm. Nothing happened. He looked back at him only to see him smirking, as if he were waiting for that _nothing_ to happen.

Before he could speak, the boy threw him with such force that Kin could feel the shockwave from his form flying by. She grunted as she shielded herself from the passing wind. Even as she lowered her arms, she found the boy's form towering over her, his half-masked face leering down at her, its jagged teeth and narrow eye-slit sharp in enjoyment.

She didn't even have time to cry out as he backhanded her away with enough power to send her into the forest, out of sight and sound.

**"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" **He leaned back and laughed to the sky, his arms held out wide and his fingers half clenched beside him. **"HAHAHAAA! Shit's good!"** He turned to the only remaining two genin; Neji and TenTen.

Neji felt a trickle of sweat roll down the side of his chin. Even though he was looking up at them from the forest floor, his eyes glowed with an unearthly purple, as if they had lost all trace of their blue color, and he looked as if her were still looking down on them, despite their higher position.

TenTen couldn't believe her eyes. "T-this is Naruto…? He's-"

**"Naruto's not home right now; it's just me!" **He cocked a thumb at his own chest to emphasize the point as he sneered up at Neji.

**"I ain't gonna sugar coat it; the fucker hates you, and it's probably the only thing we agree on. The only difference is that he wants to beat the shit outa you while I…"** He withdrew the blade at his side slowly for effect, smirking all the way. **"…Well, you get the idea.."**

Neji clenched his teeth. "Who are you?"

The boy may have looked like Naruto, but the chakra signature was completely different, not to mention to color was off and… _'I can't claim to know him, but this isn't who I've seen him to be.'_

He shrugged.** "Who's it look like? I'm me!"**

He lunged upward with such speed that Neji completely lost track of him. The next thing he noticed was the cold edge of steel staring him straight in the face, approaching at terminal velocity. He didn't even have time to think.

Thankfully he didn't have to.

The manic look of thrill on the boy's face disappeared at he looked back to the forest as a shout range out.

"**Ninpou…!**"

He turned in midair, as if he'd forgotten Neji existed.

"**…ZANK****ŪKYOKUHA!**"

The blast of air was immense, tearing through the forest with ease, uprooting and shredding trees with ease as it knifed right towards them all, intent on erasing them all from existence.

Neji barely had time to bring his arms up to shield his eyes as he was hit by the most intense gust of wind he'd even felt. He could feel the large amount of chakra in it and knew it must have taken a lot of strength to create. He used his Byakugan to get a better look at things. What he saw was nothing short of terrifying.

He stood there, bored looking and yawning loudly, though he couldn't hear it above the tumultuous roar of air. But what scared Neji was the chakra from the attack seemed to simply vanish around him, as if it didn't even exist in the first place. _'He can't be… He's… absorbing it?'_

The wind died away and vanished. Leaves fell around them, shaken from their homes by the powerful gust, a clear path of carnage leading all the way back to their progenitor.

Zaku stood there, both arms outstretched, panting with effort. He smirked victoriously. "Blew the fucker away… hehe…"

Then the dust abruptly blew away as the… _thing_ soared toward him in an instant. Zaku didn't have time to react as a swinging kick smashed into his outstretched palms, the bones cracking beneath his power.

His eyes were wide, not even able to register the pain as he was shoved even further back into the forest, ping-ponging between three different trees as be bounced between them one time each. The thing smirked, completely self-assured and confident. **"Yeah, I guess I did,"** he said with an amused smile. **"Not even worth my time."**

Suddenly his eyes widened ever so slightly, as if he'd just realized something. It was quickly replaced with a victorious grin. **"Oh, looks like it finished…"** He turned looking back to the small hole-of-a-shelter and stepped over to it.

He held out a hand and Neji felt a surge of chakra. More so, he _saw_ it form like a circle on the ground, but he saw no change in chakra levels from the creature. Then he noticed the mask on its face; it had expanded, reaching around the lower jaw and trying to spread across to the other half of its head. But his attention instantly snapped back to the ground as he saw the form now lying there, having appeared out of completely nowhere.

To TenTen, who'd watched the whole thing with common eyes, simply saw her appear, as if she'd been cloaked in invisibility, and the thing had suddenly thrown the cloak off of her. But what amazed the weapon user was how she looked. Even at this distance, she should have looked bloody and bruised, like she'd been before she disappeared. If anything, there should have been blood on her shirt from where she'd been lying in it.

But there wasn't. Not a bruise, not a speck of blood… not even a single scratch marred her skin. Even her hair, which should have been at least a little dirty or unkempt in this Forest of Death, was perfectly brushed and shinier than ever. Even her lavender eyes shone with a purity beyond the level of even Neji's untainted white Byakugan.

She was speechless. Lost for words. The only thing she could even voice was a half pronounced "w-w-what…?"

* * *

It was only a mystery to those who weren't _him._ He looked at the phantasm before him, the massive head of a monster-like apparition, surrounded in violet flames. It rose out of the ground, mean-looking and demonic, but did nothing else. He held his hand out, and the creature's mouth opened wide, revealing only a gaping maw of darkness. Then, slowly, two slimy, ethereal hands lifted the girl out of its throat, delicately placed her on the ground between them.

As intended, she bore no mark of injury of any kind. **_'Jigoku no Ou… As expected, it does a good job.'_** From his perspective, she seemed only to be sleeping now, as if she had only fallen asleep before.

His eyes narrowed in amusement suddenly and he ducked, even as Dosu's arm flew over his head.

_'What? There was no way he could have seen me coming!'_ Dosu looked stunned even as the thing lifted his leg and nailed the Oto genin in the gut, sending him high into the air.

He coughed out blood, the red liquid spilling onto his mask from the inside. But to his credit, he focused hard and pointed his Melody Arm down at the boy. "**Kyōmeisen!**"

Chakra blew from the amp-holes like steam, blasting ripples of sound down onto the battlefield. The creature just laughed it off, leaping up through them to their progenitor. **"HYAHAA!"**

Dosu felt his left arm crack under the pressure of the swinging kick that sent him flying back into a tree. He barely had time to move after landing, the boy already on top of him and slashing with his sword. Using his gauntlet as a shield, he blocked every strike, trying to use the resulting clanging sound to his advantage. But sound seemed to have no effect on him at all. It wasn't like he was deaf; even if he was deaf, his inner ear would still be affected.

With a shove, Dosu lifted his feet and allowed himself to be thrown back several meters. But he had no reprieve, as the boy lifted his left, unoccupied fist up to him. Expecting another blast like he'd done before, he steadied himself, latching onto the ground with chakra.

Of course, that was what the creature had expected. **"Hahaha!"**

Nobody was more shocked than TenTen to see the creature's arm extend slightly, small metal cylinders fanning out from within the limb. "W-what's he-?"

**"EAT IT!" **He too braced himself as the small cylinders ignited, spewing out of his arm and guiding themselves toward Dosu. The shinobi had only a second to realize what was happening before the missiles exploded around them, sending not only dirt and earth into the air, but also heat that scorched the trees, and shrapnel that lanced full-grown branches from their homes.

The boy lowered his arm, even as it retracted back together as if it had never extended. Not even a crease showed where it had split from the rest of his arm. Even though it had looked like a weapon, Neji still only saw flesh and bone inside. _'What was that?'_ he wondered.

But he didn't get to think about it long, since the creature was now looking at him.

**"Now, where was I…?" **He sneered up at them.

Neji was about to order TenTen to run for it when he saw a blur move from behind the creature and smash its fist into its masked face. The thing reeled back, clutching its face protectively and eyeing its assailant. **"Tch, teme…"**

Neji narrowed his eyes as he realized who had dealt such a hard blow to the creature who'd so far seemed so invincible.

TenTen voiced his mental recognition in his stead. "Uchiha… Sasuke!" Her eyes were as wide as her teammates. She'd known of all the "Rookie Nine" as they were called, if not personally then at least by vague association. She knew of Hinata only because of Neji's familial relationship with her, but she'd never known that the girl could have two monsters like _this_ on her team.

"Wha… what are they?"

Sasuke's entire left side was covered in black tattoo-like marks, and they visibly crawled even further, creeping across his face like a disease.

Sasuke grinned darkly. "You woke me up, loser; now I'm really pissed."

"Naruto" smirked and straightened back up. **"Heh, you pickin' a fight with me?"**

Sasuke smirked. "You sound scared. You should be."

The creature laughed. **"You? Scare me? Gimme a break."**

Sasuke clenched his darkening fist. "You'd better not run then." Chakra flared around him; black laced deep purple in color, it swirled around him dangerously.

Then in an instant, he was gone.

The creature blinked and turn to his left just in time to catch a backhand to the face, sending him bouncing away.

With a flip and a grunt, he landed back on his feet, sliding to a stop. He looked up, not seeing the Uchiha anywhere. He found out where he'd gone when a pile-driver to the top of his head made his neck crack, He couldn't even turn before it was followed up by a smashing elbow to the jaw that sent him spinning.

TenTen's eyes widened in their sockets as she tried to follow their movements. Sasuke was an invisible blur of blue as he tore into Naruto, knocking him around like a ragdoll. But just as impressive, and terrifying, was the fact that Naruto simply refused to go down, and acted as if he wasn't even taking damage; ignoring wounds and injuries that would normally have crippled a full grown man.

Having trained with Neji, she knew most if not all the human body's vital points and critical spots, and Sasuke was hitting every one of them with superfluous ease, and from Naruto's expression showed he was treating it as if it weren't anything more annoying than a fly. Every punch, every kick, every pounding strike… it was as if he didn't even feel them.

Sasuke's Sharingan blazed in his eyes, shattering Naruto's defenses like boulders to paper walls.

There was a resounding smash, and Naruto went flying into the air, spinning uncontrollably as he tried to straighten himself. He eventually managed to do it, but it was too late as Sasuke grabbed him from above and dragged him down like a meteor, throwing him to the ground with a crashing boom.

The Uchiha landed lightly nearby, his eyes burning with excitement.

Neji, with his Byakugan, could only watch on as Naruto stood up within the smoke, his body battered and bruised, but moving despite his injuries.

Naruto cracked his neck and straightened, his grimace turning into a smirk. **"Finally, someone _worth_ my time!"** He widened his legs, lowering himself into a more aggressive and agile stance.

Sasuke grinned back in a very un-Sasuke like manner; a dark, malicious smile. "As expected, you _would_ be the only one who could entertain me." His lips revealed more of his grin, as he felt his blood boil with excitement.

Purple energy burst from Naruto's feet, rising and clashing with Sasuke's own aura, the very air around them filled with a vicious lust for blood.

Without warning, Naruto thrust his sword forward, sending the blade shooting out at the Uchiha. Sasuke deftly avoided it and leapt away from the coming slash.

As expected, "Naruto" slashed the elongated blade, sending it smashing one of the few remaining trees around him with such tremendous power, it toppled beneath the force of his blow. Coincidently, it was the tree Neji and TenTen were standing on. Quickly leaping down, they were found they weren't even noticed as Naruto roared with strength. **"HURRRAAAGGH!" **

He brought both hands to the handle of the blade and slashed down in and overhead strike, slamming it into the earth and causing it to tremble for a brief second, even as Sasuke leapt away from the strike, only to dive back at him.

So intent were they on killing each other, and Neji and TenTen on watching, that they didn't hear the small voice behind them, calling out to them.

Naruto reeled from a strike that would have broken a lesser man's jaw right off his face.

Sasuke quickly rebounded from a slam that sent him halfway through a tree.

Now the voice was slightly higher, though still almost unnoticeable.

They shot toward one another, their teeth barred as they roared at their opponent.

"STOOOP IIIT!"

Glowing crimson and purple eyes widened in shock as they found a new target interposed between them. Their limbs stuttered into reverse as they instantly tried to stop themselves. Regardless, they crashed into each other, sending flying debris everywhere.

The smoke and dirt slowly landed on the ground, but no other sounds of battle ensued. It was silent, eerily so, from the crater. Two forms stood over a smaller one, perfectly still, as if they were afraid to move.

Neji saw it first, followed by TenTen. Between the two monsters was the almost trembling form of Hinata. She was braced, as if she'd expected to be hit from both of them, but also had her arms out to either side, as if holding her hands out would stop them both by sheer will alone.

She looked up, tears streaming from her eyes. "P-please… stop…"

Both boys' eyes were wide with near horror, as if they'd almost committed the most evil of atrocities.

Sasuke's teeth were clenched and his eyes almost twitching in fear. Almost immediately, the black marks that were on his body slowly receded, along with the dark chakra that it spawned. His crimson eyes vanished, replaced with charcoal circles.

Though Hinata had spoken to both of them, she looked to Naruto specifically. His face was a strange mix of emotions. It was almost as if he was unsure of how to address her. He looked down at her, his muscles tense, as if he couldn't decide whether or not he should stop or just cut through her.

But once again her soft, pleading voice spoke out to him. "Please… Naruto… No more…"

He narrowed his eyes and strained, small noises coming from the back of his throat. Several times he moved his mouth as if he wanted to speak, but nothing came out of it. Hinata stepped closer to him and looked him in the eyes. If she was surprised at the existence of the almost biological mask on his face, she didn't show it. Instead, she slowly reached up with one hand and peeled it away. While it looked as if it had grown from his skin, it came off like it hadn't even been touching his flesh in the first place, and had merely been resting there.

It fell to the ground with a _clack,_ the smooth texture of the mask not scratching even the slightest.

Hinata hadn't taken her eyes from Naruto's, and saw that the eye that had been hidden by the mask was a strange blackish color, though she couldn't tell if it was his contacts or the Rinnegan beneath it. For a moment, nothing happened. But slowly, Hinata managed to notice a subtle change in his expression. Instead of a conflicted desire to both ignore her and obey her, his face took on a more frightened look.

Shakily, he took a small step back, only for her to step toward him the same distance. He backed away again, and this time she stepped even closer, her soft hands sliding around him gently, but securely. The tears still flowed from her eyes, but she did not sob. Finally, Naruto found his voice. It was distant, and seeded with regretful and confused emotions.

"I… I-I…"

She silenced him as she buried her face into his chest, wiping her tears away on his shredded shirt and vest. "Thank goodness… you're back…!"

Naruto blinked sadly. "Hinata, I-…" He couldn't finish as a mountain of fatigue caused him to collapse to the ground, weariness overtaking is limbs. Hinata immediately tried to hold on to him, her embrace turning into a supporting grasp. "N-Naruto-kun!"

Sasuke had fallen to his butt, and he sat there staring at his shaking hands. _'What… what was I doing…? Why did I want to fight so badly?'_

Naruto groaned tiredly. "I feel… terrible." He wasn't so tired as to fall asleep, and already his limbs were regaining their strength, but something about how Hinata had looked at him made him feel so incredibly weak. It was like her plea to him to stop had sucked him of all his energy, even the immense power that "Berserker Naruto" had.

_'What was that anyway? It was like I wasn't in control at all, but I could sense everything around me. It was like I wasn't… _me_ anymore.'_

Hinata was staring down at him worriedly, and he forced a small smile up at her. "I… I think I'll be ok." He picked up his head briefly and looked at Sasuke behind Hinata. "You ok, Sasuke?" With the fight they'd just battled still fresh in his mind, he realized Sasuke could have been just as injured as he was.

The Uchiha snapped up to look at the blonde who'd addressed him and nodded slowly. "Yeah… yeah I'm fine." He leaned forward, placing his arms on his knees casually, as if he weren't recovering from an almost traumatic fight like the one he'd just had.

They were interrupted by TenTen running up to where Lee was on the ground, seemingly untouched from the battle. Hinata noticed how she subtly gave the three of them a wide berth as she passed by.

"Lee!" She yelled as she stooped down to pick the green clad boy up and shaking him violently. "Wake up Lee!" He mumbled a bit as he came to, TenTen not particularly pleased to have to be near those two boys from Hinata's team. _'Even so, they seem friendly enough now…'_ The bloodlust that had saturated the battlefield before was completely gone, and neither Naruto nor Sasuke seemed to be very violent at all, much to her surprise. In fact, they seemed to be treating their outbursts as if they'd never happened. That in and of itself had to make the girl wonder; was there something more to both boys that was unspoken and secret? Whether there was or wasn't, she wanted to know what it was.

Neji decided to stay where he was, away from everyone else as TenTen roused Lee. The gaze he was giving the two boys was one of a suppressed fascination. _'Uzumaki Naruto… it seems there is more to you than meets the eye, and you, Uchiha Sasuke.'_ Their chakra definitely weren't normal, or even natural as far as he could tell. It was like the berserkers before were completely different people driving their bodies.

But, whatever had possessed Naruto, it was powerful; the techniques he'd used had completely nullified and obliterated the Sound team. And he hadn't even needed to move a muscle. Even with his Byakugan, it was difficult to see what was happening with all the chakra being thrown everywhere, so he hadn't gotten a perfectly good view of what happened, but he knew for a fact that Naruto had somehow absorbed the incoming chakra from the sound waves and air blasts.

But the thing that itched at him the worst was probably the most overlookable event that had transpired during the fight.

For a time, Hinata had completely vanished form even his sight, and then reappeared just as suddenly as she'd gone. Even more confusing was that there wasn't even a speck of dirt on her body, nor scratch to mar her flesh, contradicting the fact that she'd been lying in a pool of her own blood, covered in bruises and torn clothing. Even to Neji, she'd appeared almost dead, and anyone else would have probably thought so too.

_'Somehow he repaired her; that much is unmistakable. The only question is how…'_ He thought back on the battle, even as he observed team seven from his place. He could see that Naruto had chakra coils that could potentially store _tons_ of chakra, and Sasuke's chakra seemed to be particularly powerful, but other than that, there was no clue to be seen from their bodies alone. He thought back to Sasuke's words at the beginning of the first exam.

_"__You should probably know, Naruto doesn't take kindly to those who insult Hinata. I know that from experience. When the exams start, I'd advise you to watch your back."_

And then to what he said in response to Neji's retort.

_"Curious that you'd say that to me, an Uchiha… I wonder how your Byakugan will stand against these Sharingan."_

His eyes narrowed at the memory. _'I hadn't expected either to be so strong. Is this the true power of the Uchiha?'_ He looked at the crest on Sasuke's back idly. _'And Uzumaki… where could he have gotten such power from?'_

He watched in near disgust as the blonde comforted Hinata, telling her that everything was fine now and she didn't need to feel scared or worried. He smirked at the last comment. _'Well, nothing to be afraid of yet, but most certainly later on.'_

His eyes fell on TenTen as she lifted Lee, his arm wrapped around her shoulder for support.

They were all shocked out of their thoughts and conversations at the sound of wood cracking beneath heavy footfalls. They turned to see the bandaged man stepping back into the clearing.

_'That was a nasty little trick he pulled there,'_ Dosu thought as he came closer. He'd been saved only by using a high-frequency pulse of sound that had prematurely detonated those strange mini-missiles. Due to Zaku's earlier attacks, the ground had been turned into a sponge of dirt, rather than packed earth, and he'd been able to dive into it before the explosions reached him. _'I guess if it hadn't been for his foolishness, I'd be dead right now.'_

"You…!" Naruto growled as she tried to stand, only to fall to a knee in fatigue.

Dosu reached behind him and pulled out his Earth scroll and placed it on the ground in front of him. "You're team is strong Sasuke. In return for this scroll, do not pursue us or engage us for the rest of this section of the exam, and we will leave you alone as well."

He eyed the three and could tell they didn't have the power to fight him on the subject. Well, the girl probably could; she'd done well against him before, but that was when he had the support of his own teammates. Now, with his battle damage and the way she appeared so unharmed, he doubted he could best her, especially not after she'd seen his ability and _definitely _not with her teammates conscious, even if they were worse for wear. Then there was the unknown factor of the Hyuuga boy in the back and the girl who'd come with him.

He couldn't risk it, and he needed secure, safe passage away from them, along with time to gather Kin and Zaku and get them to safety.

"This fight is yours. I'll be going now." He turned and left without much fanfare, walking away calmly in Zaku's direction. The fact that he didn't just shunshin away indicated that he expected they would hold to the unilateral deal he'd just made. He left no room to argue.

Hinata watched until his image disappeared into the forest beyond before she relaxed, her body leaning against Naruto's even as she was the one supporting him. He growled, but ever so surely stood back up and managed to stay on his own feet without help.

Sasuke was already standing by the time he was up, and both boys gave each other a strange look but said nothing, knowing neither wanted to speak about it. Choosing to file it away for later, they examined themselves and the damage they caused.

The entire area of the forest had been torn up and destroyed. Trees were either toppled over completely or missing huge chunks of them where they'd been hit. The ground around them was stirred up and scattered, large gouges tearing through the earth fault-lines.

Naruto could still sense that area to be saturated in reiatsu and chakra, but what disturbed him was that the reiatsu and chakra that _should_ have been his own felt nothing like him. To him, most chakra was about the same simply because he wasn't a sensor type. But reiatsu was much more identifiable due to the purity of the reiryoku over chakra, and the reiatsu that was no doubt what he'd been leaking off during his… _'Whatever that was back there…'_ wasn't anything like his own. That made him curious, _and_ worried. For a moment at the end, what had been controlling his body had wanted, almost desired insatiably to cut through Hinata just to get to Sasuke. The only thing that had stopped him from doing so was the deep rooted desire for his body not to move. _'I guess before when I wanted something to move it moved, and this time I didn't want myself to move, so I froze, and then…'_ Then, when Hinata had reached up to the mask he hadn't even acknowledged was covering his face and took it off, everything returned to normal.

Not to mention how Sasuke had likewise gone totally bat-shit crazy while fighting him, which was a whole other can of worms. The only common denominator he could come up with was that they'd both just woken up from fighting that Orochimaru guy.

He thought back on what he'd experienced during his fight with the man. _'Something must have happened to both of us during that fight. But Hinata… she didn't do anything different.'_ He looked to her and saw she was simply happy they were both alright.

_'Nope, definitely not crazy.'_

She went over and hugged Sasuke tightly, to which he hesitated, but eventually placed his arms around her and held her there, somewhat awkwardly. He and Naruto shared a look, only for them both to look away.

_'This isn't awkward at all,'_ Sasuke said as his eye almost twitched.

But, thankfully, Hinata didn't hold the embrace for nearly as long as she had with Naruto, but Sasuke appreciated it nonetheless. At least she showed she cared about him. He'd have felt kind of left out if she only just fawned Naruto.

Naruto looked over to where Neji stood, silently observing them with those cold eyes of his. Unconsciously shifting Hinata so he stood between them, he gestured to his teammates. "We should probably go somewhere else; other teams will be heading this way soon."

Sasuke and Hinata nodded and they picked up what gear they'd taken off and left, leaving Neji and TenTen with a wounded Lee. Before they bounded off into the forest, Hinata turned and bowed in Lee's direction. "Thank you, Lee-san. If you hadn't jumped in to save me I probably wouldn't be alive right now."

Lee laughed bashfully and bowed back. "Well, you were in danger, and as a man I couldn't just stand by and do nothing."

She smiled at him and straightened before turning around and jogging back to where Naruto and Sasuke had walked a bit ahead of her.

TenTen watched Lee's eyes as team seven left and couldn't help but shake her head in amusement. _'Oh Lee...'_

In his eyes was a spark of admiration.

* * *

Kabuto pushed his glasses higher on his face. _'Those kids are really something. Hinata was able to hold off all three Sound genin for several minutes, and Naruto completely obliterated them. Then Sasuke, who dominated Naruto afterwards… Quite the team you've picked out, Orochimaru-sama.'_

He smirked to himself amusedly. _'Though, I wonder what it was that Naruto used there. Quite frightening actually… I wonder if the Kyuubi's seal has begun to weaken.'_

He'd observed the whole fight, and he had to say, he was honestly interested in those Konoha brats.

_'Well, I guess I'm a Konoha brat too, haha!'_ He chuckled aloud at the irony, his shoulders bouncing in the process.

He watched as team seven made their way to a new hideout and the other team began to leave as well. Dosu had already gathered Zaku and was now heading off to find Kin, wherever she was in the mess of mangled trees that had been created in the ensuing fight.

He ignored them and silently followed the three Leaf children. He'd give them a while and then pop in for a word. _'It's rather short-sighted of Orochimaru really; he tells them to complete the exam, burns their scroll and then leaves them for dead. They may be good, but they're way too green for that kind of treatment.'_ He smirked as he thought about their upcoming confrontation. _'I guess I'll have to be the good senior again and help them out a bit.'_

He sighed as he smiled to himself tiredly. _'Well, this'll at least be interesting, if not entertaining.'_

* * *

**Ten hours later**

"Mmm! This is awesome Hinata! You're a totally awesome cook, you know that?" Naruto delightfully exclaimed as he consumed the fish she'd prepared. Of all of them, she'd been the only one to bring spices for food and such during the exam. Why she would have thought to need it when they hadn't known it was a survival exercise they didn't know, but neither did they care. Sasuke had to admit, he'd take Hinata's cooking over anything he could make himself any day.

Actually, they hadn't even known she could even cook _at all, _and it had come a surprise when she offered to fix the fish they'd caught. However, even though they were surprised by the fact, it really should have been obvious. All women were good cooks, as far as Naruto knew. But then, the only women he knew were Ayame from the ramen stand, Tsunami who lived in Wave, and now Hinata. Of all of them, he had to admit he liked Hinata's cooking the best. Maybe it was because of the way she kept looking at him expectantly only to look away slightly when their eyes met.

At his words of praise, she bashfully, though excitedly lowered her head. "Y-you think so?" She'd learned to cook from Tsunami during their mission, and she'd gotten a few recipes from the woman before leaving. Thankfully, fish was one of the meals she'd learned to prepare.

It did her heart good to hear the boy she loved so dearly praise her for her culinary capabilities, especially since it had been the first real meal she'd created on her own. In all honesty, she'd offered to cook for them hoping that he'd like it, and she was not disappointed in his reaction. The way he almost inhaled the cooked aquatic animal made her heart flutter in happiness.

Hinata knew that if she had any say in the matter, she would one day become Naruto's wife (the mere thought of which was enough to make her nearly die from an overdose of joy), and wives have to feed their husbands, right? So it stood to reason she needed to learn how to cook. It took time and effort, but she was finally reaping the fruits of her labor; Naruto's praise.

He giggled happily as he munched on his fish, immensely enjoying the flavor and oblivious to how much he was encouraging Hinata's endeavors with every "Mmm!" he let out and every compliment he gave her.

Not to mention what it meant to hear Sasuke acknowledge her cooking ability. The normally stoic boy never really said much about his food preferences, and virtually never commented on how a meal tasted. So to hear _him_ say he liked it was really something!

After a few minutes, their fish turned into skeletons, and they felt the effects of post-meal lethargy.

"Mmm… damn that was good!" Naruto said as he twirled the stick that had been speared through his fish between his fingers. Sasuke slumped in is seat, a content smile spread on his face showing he was equally pleased with the meal.

"Hinata, you should make our meals more. I doubt Naruto will want more than ramen, but…"

Naruto shot a look to his friend but said nothing. Sasuke simply smirked and lifted his head. "Anyway, now that we've rested up a bit, we should probably go looking for more scrolls. We have an Earth scroll now to replace the Heaven scroll that freak burned, so we're neither further nor closer to our goal."

The mood turned serious and they both nodded. "It's is the third day already too; halfway through the test. Logically that means at least half the teams have already reached the tower," Naruto reasoned. "Naturally that doesn't mean it's true, but we'll go with that."

"W-well, that's not completely true…" Hinata said after a second or two. Both boys looked at her curiously. "I mean, it _is_ possible half the teams have reached the tower, but that's not what I mean." She pulled out the Earth scroll in her pocket and held it in her hand. "The exam started out with twenty-six teams, and each team has one type of scroll. That means that only a maximum of thirteen teams can pass. But since that man burned our scroll, that means its pair is meaningless now."

"So you're saying that only twelve teams can pass now, max. And if half of them have already gotten to the tower…"

Hinata nodded as Sasuke's line of thought. "That means that only a third of who's left even have the Heaven scroll. The odds of finding a team with the Heaven scroll is, well…" She looked down dejectedly.

There was silence for several moments before Naruto stood up, plucking the scroll from his girlfriend's hand and tucking it in his equipment pouch. "I guess that means we should get started. If only a third of the enemies out there have the Heaven scroll, that means we'll have to try three times as hard to find them. No point in sitting around." He looked to Hinata with a smile. "Though we have you, so we don't need to fight anyone without the right scroll."

Hinata smiled and nodded, her and Sasuke standing with him. "I guess we should get started right away then…" Hinata said as she activated her Byakugan to look around.

Naruto had expected a few seconds of silence to go by while she searched for anyone nearby to fight. That was why he was surprised to hear her gasp almost instantly.

Sasuke looked at her worriedly. "What's wrong?"

Hinata simply pointed over to the tree-line that stood fifty or so feet from the cobblestone beside the stream by which they stood.

"How strong?" he murmured in question to Hinata.

She narrowed her eyes, getting over her sudden shock at finding an enemy so close to their position. "Just one…" She blinked in surprise, and recognition. Her face instantly lightened in relief. "It's Kabuto-san!"

As if on cue, Kabuto stepped out of the bushes he'd been hiding in and waved to them. "Well, looks like you noticed me. Took you long enough though, I was getting worried there for a minute. I would have thought you'd check your surroundings more frequently."

Sasuke and Naruto relaxed only a little though, knowing that Kabuto, while being friendly before the exam, was still an enemy. "Yeah, we'll be sure to do that from now on."

Kabuto smirked at them, adjusting is glasses. "Oh come on, don't give me those analytical stares. I'm here in peace. See?" He held his arms up, palms open to show he held no weapon.

Sasuke and Naruto both lowered their guards and offered to give him the benefit of the doubt. "How come you're here then?"

The older genin saw their half-welcoming expressions and approached. "Ah, you know. Stuff happened and I got separated from my team. Who'd've thought I'd run across you three so soon after getting split up?"

Sasuke looked the boy up and down, not sure how to take his appearance. "Which scroll do you have?" he asked cautiously.

Kabuto simply smiled laughing warmly in the process. "Hahaha, both of them actually!" He reached behind him and showed them to the surprised faces of team seven. "Don't worry, I have no intention of taking yours. But considering I'm on my own, it wouldn't hurt to try and travel with a fellow team from my village in exchange for help."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "Why would you offer to help us?"

Kabuto waved it off lightly. "I'll get to that in a minute, but for now, we should probably get moving. The smoke from the fire and the smell of cooked fish will catch the attention of other teams nearby."

The team seven realized he was right and quickly packed up what they'd set up. That done, they gestured for the white haired boy to follow and they leapt into the trees.

After they'd traveled a good distance Sasuke asked again. "So why are you offering to help us? Even if you're alone, that only makes you a bigger target for us, especially since you happen to have both scrolls."

Kabuto smiled knowingly. "Well, my intention was to hire myself out to your three."

Hinata blinked at the boy. "Hire yourself out? You mean like a mercenary?"

Kabuto chuckled and scratched his cheek absently. "Haha, well, yeah kind of. You see, I was thinking to use you three as… a substitute team as I made my way to the tower. In return, I could help you get your own scroll along the way."

Naruto smirked as he caught onto Kabuto's line of thought. "So you were planning on using us as bodyguards to protect yourself."

"Hehe, well when you put it that way…"

"But what if we reach the tower and there are no enemies along the way. You realize we'll just have to fight you for the scroll, and three against one aren't good odds."

"Oh there'll be teams along the way, more, as we get closer to the tower," Kabuto assured in a confident voice. "You see, most teams who don't have a scroll are figuring out that ambushing incoming teams _at_ the tower is the best way to go. However, there are also a series of people I like to call 'collectors.' They're the types who like to collect extra scrolls, just I case they run into a strong enemy and need a gift to ensure escape. Or those who try to gain favors and information from teams of their own village by delivering an extra scroll to them. Or those who simply like to pick off teams along the way to ensure an easier time during the third test."

He gave a hard look their way. "I doubt I need to tell you; each one of them is strong, and perfectly confident in their abilities. They're the worst kind of enemies."

Hinata blinked in realization. "S-so that's why you approached us, you're scared too."

Kabuto gave an admitting smile and nodded. "Exactly."

The traveled along silently for several hours until the tower was finally in sight. By this time the sun had risen to its peak and fallen; another day turning into night.

Sasuke eyed it with slight annoyance. "Finally, the tower." Who would have thought it would be so difficult to get to such a large structure. _'I mean, the tower's only ten friggen kilometers from the perimeter of the forest. It shouldn't have been this hard!'_

Kabuto nodded. "We'll need to be careful from here on out."

Silently, they dropped from the trees and began to walk along the ground. They were silent as they traveled, no one saying anything too loudly or drawing any untoward attention to themselves. It actually looked like they'd make it to the tower unscathed. At least, that was until Hinata, who'd been looking out with her Byakugan, noticed something amiss. "E-everyone…!"

They stopped and looked to her, already tensed ad ready for action. But it wasn't an enemy she saw. Rather, it was something she noticed in all of _them_. "Everyone… your… _our_ chakra is…!"

She didn't even need to finish before Kabuto understood the situation completely. "I see. It seems we've arrived at our welcoming party."

The two boys turned to their ally for an explanation only to receive a one-word response, accompanied with a knowing smirk. "Genjutsu."

Naruto looked to Hinata and then to himself. "Genjutsu? Weird, I don't feel any different."

Sasuke shook his head hopelessly. "You're not supposed to, idiot."

"I don't suppose any of you know how to dispel genjutsu…?" Kabuto interjected, strategically avoiding a rather heated argument over who the "real" idiot was on their team. All he received in response were blank stares. He sighed irritably. "Wonderful… Guess I'll just have to do it for you."

He brought his hands together in a ram seal and closed his eyes for a second before opening them again. Then, he tapped each of their foreheads lightly and turned to Hinata. "Well? How's it look?"

"W-wow, our chakra has stabilized!" she said, effectively answering his question. "How'd you do that?"

"It's a basic anti-genjutsu technique, but I guess you guys haven't learned it yet. I'm sure your sensei could teach you after the exam." He said. "But regardless, Hinata-san, can you see the enemy?"

Hinata nodded her head and looked around, finding them relatively easily. But before she could manage point them out, they appeared allaround them, of the own accord. Each one was clad in form-fitting black clothes, and they seeped out of the ground in a way eerily reminiscent to the same way that Orochimaru guy had done when he left.

Kabuto looked at them, the whole multitude as they appeared around them. "Quite a few… Clones, huh?"

"Hehe, you're trapped rats!" said one of them, the voice muffled due to the filter-masks they wore. None of them had eyes, or at least, visibly had them, since they were covered by a white cloth, right below their Mist village headbands.

"Heh, well this is disappointing," Naruto commented with a smirk as he observed his opponents. "Don't worry guys, I'll take care of these guys in a flash!" he cracked his knuckles and bounced on his toes readily.

"B-but Naruto! You still haven't completely healed from the-!" She was silenced by the wind in her face as Naruto dashed past her ignorant of her worries as he lunged for the nearest black target. A quick punch to one sent it flying.

_'Well, they seem pretty weak… maybe his injuries won't be a problem.'_ Hinata, more than anyone else, knew Naruto's body like she did-

_'N-Not like that!'_

-and understood best that the wounds he'd received from Sasuke while in their enigmatic berserker states the previous day hadn't healed. Apparently, from what she could tell, Naruto's berserker-self didn't heal his body, but rather only did bare, "patch-work" job, only enough to keep the body functional. What healing it did do was very sloppy. _'Not sloppy, per say, but not thorough, that's for sure.'_ Even with his advanced healing, he hadn't completely finished repairing himself.

But maybe she didn't have to worry about him with these for opponents. At least, that's what she thought until she saw noticed something off in Naruto's expression.

_'What the…?'_ It felt as if he'd just hit a wall of water; it felt hard at first, but then splashed away as his fist passed right through the body.

He turned to attack it again when he saw out of the corner of his eye another one throwing a kunai at him. _'Crap…'_ He dodged to the left, cleanly avoiding the weapon. He looked back to the one he'd hit and noticed his body had reformed, as if it really _were_ made out of water.

Kabuto's words slowly trickled back into his brain. _"I doubt I need to tell you; each one of them is strong, and perfectly confident in their abilities. They're the worst kind of enemies."_

He narrowed his eyes as he watched it pull out a double-sided kunai knife. _'So these guys are those kind of enemies… '_

He pondered only for a moment before her heard his name called out from behind him. He turned just in time to see two more silhouetted enemies toss kunai at him. He turned on one foot but winced as he felt a sharp twinge of pain run up his spine. But the moment's distraction cost him as he'd lost the time to dodge. _'Shit-!'_

"What are you doing?"

His world suddenly changed its orientation as a purple blur tackled him to the ground. The pain in his back flared again as he fell below Kabuto's strong arms. They landed with a _thump_, Kabuto clutching a small cut on his shoulder where the kunai intended for Naruto had hit him instead.

Hinata quickly ran out to tend to Naruto, realizing her fears had been well warranted. _'I knew it! His wounds haven't healed yet!'_ She slid to stop next to him. "Naruto-kun!"

She watched as Naruto gingerly reached for his neck, but didn't touch it. Hinata briefly thought back to when Sasuke had delivered that powerful pile-driver to Naruto's head, which had created a sickening cracking sound. _'That must have done some serious damage!'_ She gently lifted Naruto into a sitting position, being careful not to jostle his head too much in the process.

"I tried to tell you! You're still hurt!"

Naruto grimaced as she tried to move his head on his own. "Shit…! Looks like I took more damage than I thought. I didn't think it'd be this bad… ow!"

Hinata looked at him worriedly, but even as she looked around her, she noticed immediately that none of the black characters were really there; they were just clones. "Kabuto-san, these are all clones! They're not the real ones!"

"But- ugh! But if that's so, how did he get hit? They've gotta be Kage bunshin," Naruto countered from below her

"No," Sasuke said as he looked among the enemies. "They're all clones. I can see it with my Sharingan."

Naruto looked back at the black figures, only to notice something was different. Instead of seeing them for the images they were, he noticed a shroud of chakra flowing around them, but instead of looking like people, he saw only forms of chakra. Pure chakra; weak… thin… but pure. _'What the…?'_ Then he blinked, realizing that the eyes he had only a few days prior were no longer the same ones he had now. _'Could this be the Rinnegan? Can I also see chakra like Hinata and Sasuke?'_ He thought back to the fight with the Sound genin and Sasuke, which while not strictly of his own doing, was still vividly remembered. _'All those things I did… Were they Rinnegan techniques?'_

Kabuto plucked the kunai that had nicked him from the ground, looking at it carefully. "They're right. The enemy is likely hiding somewhere and matching their attacks with the movements of the fakes, so it only looks like the illusions are attacking."

Sasuke clutched his shouldered tightly as it began to pulse angrily at him. _'Shit, using the Sharingan makes the mark hurt. Doesn't look like I'll be able to help much this fight… Damn it.'_

Naruto breathed deeply for several seconds, his eyes closed in concentration. After several seconds, he opened them again. "Hinata, help me up."

Hinata almost jumped at his tone. It wasn't his usual one. Instead of was powerful, confident… commanding. "B-but your body-!"

"-'ll be fine. Don't worry, I won't have to move much for this."

She worriedly obliged and helped him to his feet.

"Heh, not only are you trapped rats, but you're half-_dead_ trapped rats!" one of the clones taunted haughtily.

Naruto took several deep breaths, concentrating just as deeply. _'Think back… feel what he felt… do what he did. That technique he used… what was its name?'_ Unconsciously, his hands found each other and clapped together. Kabuto looked at him curiously. _'Oh yeah, I remember.'_ His eyes opened and his arms shot out to his sides.

"Eh…? What're you up to?" one of the surrounding clones asked in amusement.

Naruto ignored him, even as a powerful aura descended upon him, his hair beginning to move erratically as if it were being blown by the wind, and his shirt and vest moved along with it. Power gathered around him, and he knew what to do. As if on instinct, the knowledge of the technique came to his mind, and realized what it was.

His opened, glowing a faded, unearthly purple. "Keh…"

The clones took a momentary step back. "What-?"

Naruto smirked at their hesitation and threw his hands to the sides.

"**SHINRA TENSEI!**"

Instantly the whole forest around them ripped from the ground, the earth below their feet blasting away with it. Hinata clung to Naruto tightly as the shockwave hit her, her voice completely drowned out in its raging noise as Sasuke held onto her, while Kabuto held on to both Naruto and Hinata in surprise.

The clones vanished in an instant, and in that same instant, the blast ended.

Naruto lowered his arms tiredly as he hissed in pain. "Ow! Fuck! It's not my neck, it's my spine!" He fell to the ground writhing comically as Hinata immediately dropped to ground worriedly to tend to him.

Sasuke stared at his partner with wide eyes. _'Holy…! Was that really Naruto? When did he learn that?'_ Then he remembered what lay beneath those fake, blue eyes of his and wondered, _'The Rinnegan… does it really have this kind of power?'_

He looked at the miniature "ground-zero" Naruto had just created around them in awe. This was nothing like what he'd thought of when the library had said the wielder would either be god of the world or conqueror of it.

Kabuto looked to be in even greater shock. _'This kid… what kind of power does he have? That couldn't have been the Kyuubi's power, so…'_ He felt a bead of sweat fall down his cheek. _'Uzumaki Naruto… just who… and _what_ are you?'_

Naruto's head now lay in Hinata's lap in almost complacent comfort, despite the fact they were still on a battlefield. Sasuke smirked at his teammate's handiwork and shook of the slight feeling of envy. "Of course; right after blowing half the forest away, you _would_ get a reward from your girlfriend," he said with a smirk. Hinata made to argue that she wasn't rewarding him, but then realized she kind of was, and so remained silent as simply tended to the blonde in her care, tenderly rubbing her hands through his hair soothingly.

Kabuto blinked back to reality. "Incredible Naruto-kun… what, was that, exactly?"

Naruto laughed sheepishly. "Would you believe me if I said I had no idea?"

The older genin gave him a curious look, but decided to direct his attention back on the more pressing matter of safety. "Hinata-san, would you please look for where Naruto blew the enemy team to?"

Hinata snapped her attention back to reality and nodded, realizing she wasn't focusing on the primary issue. _'Well, Naruto _is_ my primary issue, but I guess safety is also important.'_

"R-right!" she said halfway startled. She looked around carefully, not having to look far for the enemy genin. Unlike Naruto's previous use of the same technique, he hadn't destroyed quite so much as he had before, though he'd still cleared quite a large amount of space around them. Nearly everything within two-hundred meters had been torn out of place and thrown away. And those were the big trees. The smaller things, like animals and, yes, people, had been thrown much further. "F-found them! They're four-hundred meters, that way."

Kabuto followed her finger with his eyes before asking, "How do they look?"

Hinata focused in and saw they weren't moving at all. "I think they're unconscious, or…" She didn't say "dead" because she didn't want to add any trauma to Naruto's already injured state. Plus she didn't know what might or might not be a trigger for that berserker inside of him, and she didn't want a repeat. It hurt her heart to see him like that. Even though he'd shrugged off every attack he was hit with, it tore her apart every time she saw him get hurt.

Kabuto sighed with a smile. "I guess I should at least go grab their scroll for you, since I really didn't help much in the fighting. I'll be right back."

"You sure you'll be ok?" Sasuke asked as she felt the pain in his shoulder disappear as his Sharingan faded.

Kabuto smiled warmly. "Hey, I'm not a four year, seven exam-veteran for nothing! Besides, I doubt they'll be awake for a long time after that kind of attack."

Sasuke begrudgingly nodded and watched him travel off into the distance. _'Why do I get this weird vibe from him…?'_ But then as he looked back at Naruto practically drooling as Hinata massaged his shoulders, his head lopping around like it had no muscle at all and her giggling the whole time.

Sasuke merely smirked. _'Well, I guess after being with these two weirdoes for so long, normal people _would_ feel foreign to me, heh.'_

He relaxed as he allowed his body to drop to the ground, letting his legs rest as they awaited Kabuto's return.

* * *

Yakushi Kabuto bounded over the fallen tree and back to the ground, his feet falling only a few feet from the awakening Mist genin. They looked up to him in anger. "Y-you little…!"

Kabuto smirked down at them. "What? You didn't think we'd just leave you alone did you? You picked on the wrong team this year fellas."

They tried to get back to their feet, but either their bodies weren't listening to them or their bones were broken. _'Probably the latter.'_

"The hell… was that jutsu…? If it weren't for that…!"

Kabuto shrugged. "Who knows? Though if you think you would have won without it, I'm afraid you're incorrect." He stepped over to their defenseless forms and plucked their equipment pouches from their hips searching through them for the item in question. "Your genjutsu was decent, but I've seen better. Oh here it is." The Heaven scroll fell into his palm and he smirked. _'How fortunate, just what they needed.'_

"Damn it…! Now we've gotta get both scrolls!" One of them grumbled as he tried, to no avail, to stand.

Kabuto looked at them curiously pocketing the scroll at the same time. "I don't think you understand," he said as he approached them, only to stoop down in front of them.

"I'm afraid…" he began with a terrifying smile, idly spinning the double-sided kunai he'd been hit with before in his fingers. "You won't be complete this exam… _at all._"

A sudden sense of _ending_ settled over the three Mist genin, but they never had a chance to cry out.

* * *

"That took long enough," Sasuke commented as Kabuto stepped back into the clearing.

"Don't look at me. If anyone's to blame it's Naruto-kun, since he was the one who sent them flying. You can't imagine how hard it was to find them under all that debris." He looked over to where Naruto sat, his torso bare as Hinata dug her fingers into his back.

"Ngh! Yeah well, that was the first time I've used that- nggggh, oh yeaaaah... power on command. I've been subconsciously doing it for a day or two, but never knew how to- OW!"

Hinata flinched as her fingers caught a slightly pinched nerve. "S-sorry!"

Kabuto simply smirked. "Well, whatever it was, I'm kind of envious of you. Speaking of which, I've got a little gift…"

He rummaged around in his back pocket until he pulled out a Heaven scroll. "Ta-da! How lucky we were they had the scroll you needed!" He tossed it over to Sasuke, seeing as Naruto was slightly… preoccupied at the moment.

Sasuke grabbed it and smirked happily. "Guess that means we both have a full set. Time to head for the tower."

At the Uchiha's words, Hinata shook her head seriously. "B-but we can't yet! Naruto's still having trouble moving. I'm trying my best, but his injuries are internal."

Kabuto stepped over and sat down beside her, looking at Naruto's back. "What seems to be the problem? My dad's a medical ninja, so I know a thing or two about medicine."

Hinata looked at the purple-clad boy for a few seconds before pointing back to the boy in front of her. "Any time I touch his higher vertebrae here, his spine locks up."

Kabuto placed a hand to his chin thoughtfully as he looked. "How was the injury inflicted?"

Naruto and Sasuke were silent as Kabuto looked to them expectantly. Knowing neither one wanted to talk about it, she simply offered, in as vague a form as she could, "I-immense pressure to the head."

Kabuto turned back to the boy's back and _Hmm_-ed aloud. "In that case… I think…" He brought his hand up to Naruto's back, and placed the blonde's spine between his index finger and thumb. After a few seconds, a light, emerald-green aura appeared on his fingertips, glowing in a calmer, more controlled way than how chakra normally looked. Hinata watched, enraptured as Naruto visibly relaxed almost immediately. They were all silent for the duration that Kabuto's fingers were in contact with Naruto's skin.

Eventually, he pulled his hands away, the green aura disappearing. "There, that should do for now. But I'm no expert, so I'd have that looked at as soon as possible."

"W-wow! What was that Kabuto-san?"

The boy bashfully adjusted his glasses. "I told you, I know a thing or two about medicine. That was medical ninjutsu; a pain to learn, but, it has its benefits."

Hinata seriously considered asking Kabuto right then and there to teach it to her, but she realized that it would probably take more than one lesson to learn it, and decided to ask Kakashi-sensei about it later, if she had time. He'd know someone who could teach her.

"So? How do you feel?" He asked Naruto as he helped the boy up. The blonde experimentally twisted his torso left and right, bending forward and backward. "Wow! Pain's totally gone! Well, maybe a bit here and there, but still!"

He gave the boy a grateful pat on the back. "Thanks man! That helped a ton!"

Kabuto sighed humbly. "Nah, I'm nothing special…"

"So, we gonna just sit around or are we going to head for the tower?"

"Hehe, always impatient," Naruto commented as Sasuke waked behind him and stuffed the scroll in his pocket even as he pulled his shirt on.

Sasuke simply smirked in response. "What can I say? I'm an Uchiha; it's in our blood."

* * *

**A/N: And there's chapter effing thirteen! My lucky number too fellas! I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did! Yeah, no Rangiku this chapter, sorry. I don't remember if I said to anyone that she'd be in this one, and if I did, then I apologize. No one extra really had room in this chapter. Hopefully after the third test (or in it *shifty-eyes*) she'll get an appearance. I have plans for her, but they weren't until later, and now I'm suffering for bringing her in probably a tad too early. Oh well, at least I can have nice backstory for what she's been doing during the exams. Gives her time to settle down and get accustomed to things, no?**

**Moving on; don't forget was I said before guys! Make this story as epic as ever (and make me happy/keep me motivated) by leaving a shiny review as you go! Us little guys have ambitions too y'know :P **

**See ya next time!**


	14. Chapter 14: Trial and Error

**A/N: I'm Baaack~ MUHUHAHAHA! And you thought I'd gone forever! EERRR! Wrong! Haha! Wussup boys and girls, I'm back and with a massive chapter for your reading enjoyments. Sadly it's just the prelims. Yeah, I know; boring, overdone, negligible, but also sadly necessary. But the good news is that I got it all done in one go! So that's a plus. **

**I'm just going to say it now, but I absolutely hated doing a lot of this chapter, since I was just sick of rewriting the same scenes we've all read a thousand times before. But at least it's done now. Also who's psyched for the new Eureka 7 series? WOHOO! Ok, sorry, moving on.**

**Thanks to **Nightblader1021, TsknRaidr, Leaf Ranger, pyromania101, Jack Inqu, SpeeDemon, cmcwiki, Chewie Cookies, Ookami88, RisingSolstice, MWkillkenny84, GuardianOfTheMist, Hydrianway1013, lord Martiya, Orchamus, Genj1, awsm125, CracktheSkye, ZeroLink21, NorthSouthGorem, KitElizaKing, OBERVER01, Skelo, Flan-Bridge, Shisora, asredwer, lostWOLF-KING, Chris, Hee-Ho Master, KantonKageX, CrescentMelody, Hypothetical Spiritual Entity, jjmartinez1217, HyperCricket, Bluestone, angel61991, evilballoon, Kai Luna, lambtastic, TheSlain, Impstar, Heart of Aiur, **and** Kaminari Hakate-chan **for leaving tasty reviews on chapter thirteen. You guys kept me going.**

**But enough of the soft stuff! Onto the story! **

**P.S. VIZ sucks. **

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter 14:  
Trial and Error**

The four shadowy forms of young children slipped through the canopy of the Forest of Death, carefully picking their way to the central tower that was their assigned goal. Their pockets full of scrolls, they had everything necessary to pass this second part of the three part exam. They were silent as they approached the spire.

The rest of the short journey was uneventful, though they kept their weather-eye open for potential threats. None came however, and for that, the four genin were thankful. When finally the massive walls of the fortification finally loomed in front of them, they felt their heart lift in joy, even as the landed next to it.

Next to them was a pair of doors, unlocked and inviting.

Kabuto turned to the accompanied genin and sighed. "Looks like we made it safely… I'm glad I ran into you guys when I did. If it weren't for your efforts back there, I'd be dead right now." He smiled and rubbed the back of his neck in humility.

"Nah, I'm sure if you didn't have to carry around our dead weight, you'd've gotten away from them fine," Naruto countered with an equally humble smile.

"Oh no Naruto-kun; of all people, it's you I should be most thankful to. You saved me back there. In fact, you saved _all_ of us!"

Naruto sniggered, basking in the praise only momentarily. "Well, y'know…"

For an instant, their muscles tensed as their relaxed guard was immediately repositioned where it should have been; someone else was nearby.

But before any of them had time to utter a warning, a masked man dressed in dark purple stepped out of the foliage, followed by a similar looking man behind him. Kabuto sighed quietly and waved off team seven's defensive stances, while simultaneously slipping out of his own. "It's ok; it's my team."

The first one spoke as he neared. "Kabuto, we've been waiting for you for a while. Where've you been?"

The silver haired boy shrugged. "Well, things happened, you know. I'm here now anyway, and with the scrolls."

The man nodded, sparing only the briefest of glances in team seven's direction. Kabuto then turned and addressed the three younger genin with a warm smile. "Sorry you three. This is where we part ways. We're going through this door. Good luck to you on the other side."

Naruto smirked and stepped forward, extending his hand friendlily. "Yeah, you too!" Kabuto smirked and accepted his hand, shaking it firmly. Without another word, Kabuto stepped back to join his comrades and opened the door next to him, the three of them disappearing inside.

Naruto watched the door close before turning back to his own team. "Now it's our turn, let's go guys!"

Sasuke smirked at the blonde, his energetic nature never failing to be annoyingly present. Nevertheless, he followed the boy to their own door. Looking behind him to make sure everyone was with him, Naruto grasped the door knob and turned it, throwing he door wide open as he stepped through.

Once inside, the door latched shut behind them. They looked around curiously.

They now stood in a big room with two balconies on either side that led beyond the wall in front of them. On that wall, a sort of poem hung on the wall in large letters for all to see.

"Hmm… what do we do now?" Naruto mused aloud after a few seconds of silence.

The other two pondered for a moment before Hinata perked up. "The examiner said we'd be disqualified if we opened the scrolls before we got to the tower. Since we're here, that means we should be able to open them now."

Sasuke nodded in agreement. "Good one Hinata. Naruto, get the scrolls out."

The blonde did so, handing one to Sasuke while holding the other delicately in his grasp. He eyed the Uchiha nervously, even as the other boy did the same. "Ok, on three; one… two… three!"

In one motion, they gripped the edge of the scrolls and pulled, unraveling them several feet, only for their eyes to widen at them. Naruto blinked as he recognized the markings instinctively. _'A summoning jutsu!'_ Though he hadn't really paid much attention to lessons on summoning, the information he thought he'd ignored suddenly resurged to the forefront of his mind.

Without even needing to think, he immediately saw the key markings and telltale signs of what kind of summoning it was; the way the two sets of markings on both scrolls worked together jointly to summon, not some_thing, _but some_one._

He immediately released the parchment while almost commanding Sasuke to do the same. "Sasuke! Let go of the scroll!"

The Uchiha did so, tossing it to where Naruto had thrown his. They landed beside each other and an explosion of smoke burst from them simultaneously.

They all shielded their faces and peered into the smoke, trying to see what might have been summoned. When it cleared, they saw, to their surprise, Iruka, standing there with a proud smile on his face. "Hey! Long time no see."

Hinata was the first to speak, breaking the resulting silence that came from his greeting. "W-what's going on?"

He smirked happily. "At the end of the second exam, its set up so that we chunin meet up with the exam takers, and I was allowed to be the one to greet you three." He pulled out his watch and his eyes widened in surprise, but his smile didn't disappear. "Wow! Done in only three days huh? Impressive!"

Sasuke blinked. "Done…? So then…"

Iruka nodded. "Yep; for this second exam, you all pass!"

There was a second of silence before the realization set in, sending all three of the genin into different states of excitement. Sasuke sank down to his butt and let out a satisfied breath. Hinata's expression softened and a smile lit up her face.

Naruto... oh Naruto, he smiled proudly and simply looked at his old teachers in excitement, as if he were a student who'd just heard they were going on a fieldtrip, and was waiting to hear where they were going. That, and his proud laugh filling the room made everyone feel a little more energetic; his laugh wasn't self-pride, or egotistical, but rather a pride in his friends, and in his own ability to support, rather than carry them.

"Hahahaha! I told you Iruka-sensei! I'll become Hokage someday; I can't let the chunin exam stop me, can I?"

Iruka shook his head and laughed lightly. "No I guess you can't. You've grown Naruto… you all have. Hinata, you've become much stronger; I can see it in your eyes. And Sasuke, mmm, how do I say this…?"

He sheepishly stroked the back of his neck and smiled nervously. "…well, you don't seem so unapproachable anymore."

Sasuke almost snorted at his words, but accepted them nonetheless. Hinata seemed to brighten at his words of compliment and her confidence was once again bolstered. Even if she did get stronger, telling herself that only offered so much. Having someone _else_ say so reaffirmed it as fact in her mind.

"Since you all have completed the test on the third day, you have two days you can spend freely within this tower. Rest, practice, even talk with some of the other genin if you want, but no fighting. That's all I have to say," Iruka said again.

"Oh, and…" He smiled happily as he stepped forward and ruffled each of the genin's hair. "…I'm proud of you all!"

They beamed at him happily; even Sasuke, though it came out more reserved than the other two.

"So then, where do we stay?" Naruto asked as he looked around. There were no obvious signs that this place was an inn, and he doubted they'd have room service…

"That's also what I'm here for actually. If you'll follow me…" He motioned them along and led them into the tower. They traveled for several minutes until Iruka led them to three rooms that sat side by side.

"These will be your guys' rooms until the sixth day of the exam. Everyone is required to have at least one day of rest once they've completed the exam, so those who finish on the fifth day will have their own time to rest as well."

The three nodded, understanding what he was saying clearly.

"There's a cafeteria down this hallway to the left, and you might find other teams there as well, along with a small lounge, just in case you get bored."

They nodded again.

"Alright, well, I guess you guys are a bit tired from the test, so I'll go ahead and let you get some rest. It is almost eleven o'clock already, and I doubt you got much sleep in the forest."

Sasuke rolled his eyes and clutched his left shoulder. "Tch, you can say that again."

Iruka eyes the boy seriously for a moment, but then snapped back to his previous expression. "In that case, I'll let you guys get some sleep. See you later!" He gave them a wave as he turned and left.

Sasuke didn't waste any time in entering the middle room and closing the door behind him. Naruto waited a few seconds, staring at the closed door, before he carefully looked both ways and reached over to Hinata and pulled her into a hug, kissing her on her forehead tenderly.

"Night, Hina-hime," he whispered affectionately as he pulled away. "Sleep tight."

She blushed at the title he gave her, but nodded. "Y-yeah, you too."

He smirked at her and waited for her to enter her room before entering his own. Once the door was closed and locked, he slid out of his clothes into the shower. He stood with his face to the nozzle, letting the hot water run down his naked body, soaking his hair and skin as it rinsed away the dirt and grime from the past three days. Making sure to wash his hair thoroughly (since Hinata had commented quietly on more than one occasion that it was as soft as an animal's fur), he finished himself up and turned off the water, stepping out and drying himself off quickly.

Once out of the bathroom, he didn't even bother to put any boxers on as he went straight for the bed, plopping down on it and tested its softness; it wasn't any different from any other bed, but it felt better than the ground he'd been sleeping on for the past two days.

He stared up at the ceiling smiling proudly as he reiterated the fact that they'd passed the second part of the chunin exam in his head. Slowly, he went over everything that had happened during the test, from their fight with Orochimaru to the weird scuffle with the sound ninja.

That was where his smile dropped.

He couldn't for the life of him understand what it was that had possessed him (literally) when he'd woken up. He bit his cheek as he thought about it, before he found his eyes settling on the sword and scabbard that lay on the floor beside the bed. Sitting up, he picked the weapon up and placed it on his lap, settling into Jinzen. If anyone had any idea what it was that was wrong with him, Shinsō would know. At least, he hoped she would.

* * *

"So? How'd it go?"

Kabuto smirked as he held over a small card to the man in front of him. "Very well actually. He's progressing quickly, though steadily." The man took the card and looked at it, examining the contents carefully. "I see… What do you think?"

Kabuto shook his head. "I hardly think my opinion is necessary. After all, in the end, everything will be decided by you, Orochimaru-sama."

Orochimaru smirked at the remark and nodded. "Fufu… I like that wit of yours. Good work."

He was about to leave when Kabuto spoke again. "I also noted down some unique oddities in his teammates. In particular, Uzumaki Naruto."

Orochimaru grinned. "Yes, the Kyuubi boy. I'm glad to see he survived the night."

'_No thanks to you,'_ Kabuto added mentally, though he'd never say it aloud. "Yes. While I was with him, he displayed some rather interesting powers. In fact, if he learns to control them, from what I saw, he could become a dangerous enemy." He pulled out another card and handed it to the sannin.

"Or a potential ally, though I doubt he…" The pale-skinned man stopped himself as he took the card and looked at it. For several long moments, he didn't speak. When at last he did, it was in a dark, amused chuckle. "Hmhmhm, interesting… I wonder where the boy got such powers from, and this other form you mention…"

He tucked the card into his pocket and grinned at the silver haired boy. "Commendable work, Kabuto. I'll contact you again later."

Kabuto nodded as the man flashed away. "Understood."

He also smirked as he thought back on the face Orochimaru had just made. He laughed to himself as he adjusted his glasses. _'Seems like he won't be satisfied with just Sasuke. I wonder what he'll do with you next, Naruto-kun. Well, either way, it'll be fun messing around with you both.'_

If he'd said it out loud, one would have thought he was referring to Naruto and Sasuke. He wasn't.

* * *

Naruto opened his eyes to the forest again, Shinsō sitting on the large rock like a chair, her smooth legs extending out somewhat from her kimono. She smiled at him as he approached, his bare feet rustling the cool grass with each step.

"Welcome back," she offered politely.

He grinned and rubbed the back of his head. "Looking as pretty as ever I see."

She raised an eyebrow at him and looked him up and down. "…I might say the same thing."

He blinked and looked down at himself to see what part of his wardrobe had changed, only to find he had no wardrobe at _all_.

"Whoa!" His hands immediately shot down to his privates, shielding them from her sight while his eyes frantically looked for a branch, or bush, or even a stupid leaf to use as covering. _'Though… I guess it _would_ have to be a pretty big leaf…'_

Shinsō simply giggled, placing her hand up to her mouth as she did. "Oh relax, it's nothing that surprises me. After all, I _am_ a part of you."

He looked at her skeptically. "So, what? You spy on me?"

She rolled her eyes. "Well, I know everything you do, if that's what you mean."

Naruto slowly relaxed and stepped forward. _'Well, I guess if that's the case, I should think of her, as me... Wow that's weird!' _Shaking that thought out of his head, he focused and approached with purpose. "Anyway, if you know what I know, then you know why I'm here."

Her amused smile faded and she nodded seriously. "It's another you."

He cocked his head to the side. "Another me?"

She nodded. "Everyone has a dark side to them. For you, a human with Shinigami powers, your dark side is more… palpable."

"What do you mean?"

She sighed quietly. She hadn't wanted to have this conversation, not yet anyway. "It's called an Inner Hollow. It an extremely rare phenomenon. Basically, all your instincts, all your destructive urges, and all your darkest qualities put into one being who wants to consume your soul."

Naruto shivered. "And this… _thing_ took me over when I woke up?" he asked, putting the pieces together as best he could.

"Yes. He sensed you were in danger, and took over to protect himself, since if you die, he dies too."

"And all those abilities I used…?"

"Abilities afforded to you by your Rinnegan. It has several innate powers that come with it, but they are instinctually learned. _He_, as a being of pure instinct, knew how to use them right away."

Naruto lowered his head. "I see… So that's why it felt so natural to use it earlier."

She nodded. "That's right. He used several of the Rinnegan's powers, but not all of them. The rest I doubt he'll just show you, or that you'll let him have _control_ in order to show you…"

Naruto narrowed his eyes. "Yeah… When I-… I guess, _he_ was fighting Sasuke, he would have cut through Hina-chan just to get him. I would have thought that even if he was a dark me, he'd care for her, but…"

"He doesn't care for anyone but himself, and you," Shinsō said after a moment. "Remember, by nature, he's stronger than you, because he will do things you normally wouldn't do. He has no inhibitions, nor restraints."

"Then, how do I control him?"

Shinsō was silent. Naruto simply stared at her expectantly. She sighed and looked away. "That's a discussion for another time. You need to wake up now; she wants you."

Naruto blinked. "Eh…?"

But Shinsō was already gone, along with his soul. The next thing he saw was the ceiling as his eyes opened.

"Naruto, are you awake?" came the muffled voice from the other side of his door. It was Hinata. Frantically he looked around from his clothes and quickly got decent.

"J-just a minute."

He got on some pants and hurried to the door, opening it quietly. "What's wrong?" he asked as held the door open. She poked her fingers together and blushed, but said nothing. He blinked at her curiously as she just stood there silently, not looking at him, but seeming to find the floor and the door frames very interesting.

At last she did look at his eyes, and he realized her desire. She wanted to be near him, to be close. When his eyes spotted something beneath her usual jacket, and recognized it, he wasted no time in stepping aside and allowing her to enter. When she'd cleared the door way, he closed it behind her and locked it.

The room was dark, with only one window on the far side facing out into the moonlit forest, but it had enough light for their trained eyes to see well enough without straining them.

Though he knew the probable reason for her arrival, he went ahead and asked anyway. Best not to make any assumptions. "What is it, Hinata?"

She didn't answer him. Instead she faced the window, and remained silent, the light from outside creating a faded silhouette around her. The sound of a zipper sliding down its teeth sounded out through the silent room, and Naruto's eyes widened when he saw her jacket fall from her arms. It was followed by her pants as she hooked her fingers on the waistline and quietly pulled them down, letting them pool around her feet.

What Naruto saw was what he'd thought he'd seen before; beneath her jacket and pants, she wore a nice, violet nightgown that went down to her mid thighs. It was clearly thin; not see through, it was enough to cause his heart to pound with ever increasing ferocity. She didn't say anything as she turned and faced him, but merely looked down at her hands which were folded in front of her chest.

When at last she glanced up at his eyes, he understood what she wanted. "…Ok… c'mon…"

He stepped forward and led her over to the bed. Pulling the covers back, he let her slide in first, placing her on the side by the wall, while he took the outside.

To his surprise, as soon as he pulled the covers over them, _she_ pulled _him_ close, closer than he would have thought possible. He almost exclaimed as she buried her head in his chest and pushed her body up to his, unknowingly grinding her pelvis into his, _hard_, which sent shivers running up and down his spine. He could feel her chest on his own vaguely through her gown, and he was about to wonder if this was really the night he would lose his virginity, when he realized the hiccupping sound of breathing and sniffling.

He looked down and saw that she was _crying._ "Hey, hey… what's wrong?" He lifted her chin to look her in the face.

Her eyes were half shut and leaking tears of… some emotion. But what emotion and why? She hiccupped and sobbed for the longest time before she finally spoke.

"I-I t-thought I w-was g-going to l-l-lose you…! Back t-then…!" His gaze narrowed, knowing she was talking about his near death at that Orochimaru's hand. In truth, he hadn't given it much thought, since his actions afterward were the more prevailing thoughts on his mind. But as he looked back on it, he remembered his chest burning, his heart refusing to beat, and his head throbbing. All of that all the more painful to bear because he could still see and hear Hinata crying over him, her voice and image growing fainter by the second, even as he was powerless to comfort her.

He closed his eyes, understanding. He spoke no words, but simply placed a hand on her head and pulled her into his chest. There was nothing to say. But he was here. He was alive. And for as long as he could help it, he wasn't going anywhere. If he ever fought that Orochimaru again, things would be different.

But for the moment, he simply allowed the girl in his bed to weep away her tears, and comforted her until they both fell asleep, held in each other's arms.

* * *

"Does the seal hurt anymore?" The old Hokage asked as he adjusted the equally old pipe in his mouth.

Anko smirked, pulling her coat back over her shoulders and thread-mail shirt. "No… It's much better now, thank you."

Ever since her brief, and perhaps rash confrontation with Orochimaru in the Forest of death the day before, her Curse Seal of Heaven, the one she'd gotten so long ago from the same man, began acting up, sending debilitating waves of pain shooting through her body. Thankfully, the Third Hokage wasn't nicknamed "The Professor" for nothing; he knew a trick or two to erase the pain.

Izumo shook his head. Even after hearing all about it, he found it difficult to believe. "I don't get it. Orochimaru is one of the three legendary Leaf ninja, _and_ an S-listed missing nin in the bingo book that even the ANBU can't touch. Why would he come back to the village _now_ of all times?"

"Or at all for that matter," Kotetsu added from beside him. "I'd heard he'd died a while ago."

Anko thought back to her fight and remembered what the man had said during it. "It's probably…"

"-Uchiha Sasuke, right?" finished the old man knowingly.

She nodded. "Yeah, probably."

He sighed deeply. "I feared as much…" He paused and looked around, looking for, and not finding someone who should have been there. "Where's Gin and Kakashi? I thought I'd called for them."

Kotetsu and Izumo shared a look and shrugged.

Sarutobi was about to send one of them out to fetch them when the TV that was in the room beeped, drawing their attention.

"Hokage-sama, Hatake Kakashi-san and Ichimaru Gin have just arrived!" the man on the camera said even as the two men walked past him.

"I guess that answers that question."

Anko turned to the Hokage curiously. "What do you want with them? Kakashi I can kind of understand, since he used to be an ANBU captain, but isn't that Ichimaru guy a newbie jounin?"

The man nodded. "He is, but he's also strong. Plus, this concerns him just as much as Kakashi. You'll see when they get here."

He was almost cut off as the door opened, revealing the men in question as they filed in.

"You called Lord Hokage?" Kakashi asked as Gin sat on the back of the couch, placing his feet on the cushions.

"Yes. Apparently there's been a development in the exam this year."

The Cyclops blinked. "A development…?"

"Yes. You're aware of the man named Orochimaru, yes?"

He didn't need to say more for Kakashi to understand. "Him… of all times for him to return… why is he here? Has he made demands?"

"Yes to the second and we don't know to the first. All he's told us is that we shouldn't stop the exams, no matter what."

"Kind of an odd thing for a guy like him to want," the one-eyed man mused.

"Well, we have a pretty good idea why," Sarutobi continued, tipping his hat forward. Kakashi looked at him expectantly.

"He claims to have placed the curse mark on one of the exam's participants; someone from your team."

Kakashi's eye narrowed. "…Who." It wasn't a question.

"Uchiha Sasuke, unless there's another Uchiha in the test we don't know about," Anko answered, leaning back into the couch.

There was a growl that reverberated around the room, clearly from Kakashi. "That man…"

"Erm, hope ya don't mind my interruptin' but who's this Orochimaru fella?" Gin asked, speaking for the first time since arriving. Anko gave him a curious look. Didn't every jounin in Konoha know about her old sensei?

"Ah that's right, you don't know. He was once a pupil of mine, until things went sour. He has an addiction for ninjutsu and a grudge against Konoha for not making naming him Fourth Hokage."

"Is he insane?"

"Very much not. An insane man we could deal with easily. Orochimaru, not so much. He's one of the smartest men I've ever known, and he's extremely powerful and charismatic. However, he has a tendency to be cold hearted and ruthless. For example, Anko here was once his student. One day he placed the Curse Seal on her and then abandoned her."

Gin raised an eyebrow. "And the Curse Seal is…?"

"A forbidden technique he created. It's a mark that he puts on those who interest him. It's got a one-to-ten survival ratio, but those who live are given incredible power," Anko explained while rubbing her shoulder tenderly. "Unfortunately, it's not really good for you, since it eats away at your body."

"And Sasuke's been given it too… This really is a turn of events," continued Kakashi. "We should seal it immediately. There's no telling what might happen if we wait."

The old man _hrmm-_ed quietly to himself for a moment before pondering aloud, "I'm concerned about that actually. Normally I'd agree, but I'm worried we may have to do a preliminary match for the third exam. If we need to, and Sasuke hasn't recovered from the sealing, what do we do…?"

"If we don't seal it now, it may get out of hand later during the preliminaries!" Anko countered. "If we have to we can always give him a pass to the third exam!"

The man remained silent, mentally debating whether or not to do as she suggested. "If we did, it could be shown as simple favoritism on our part, and wouldn't show very well to our allies," Kotetsu added. "If anything, we need to know how long he'll be out after being sealed. Is there a usual time?"

"It varies per person. Weaker one's take longer than others," Sarutobi said matter-of-factly.

"I say go for it."

They turned to Gin, who'd spoken. "Sasuke's strong. If anythin' it puts 'im at a disadvantage cuz he ain't got proper restin' time."

Hiruzen looked to Kakashi, who after some seconds nodded. He mirrored the action. "Very well then. In the morning, Kakashi will seal him."

The jounin nodded in agreement. Then his expression (for what it was worth, due to his mask) changed. Hiruzen could have sworn he saw the spark or recognition, or perhaps remembrance in his eye, and he looked to Gin.

They shared a look and Gin nodded, before spinning around and slipping of the back of the couch. "We've got somethin' to tell you…" he began cryptically.

Sarutobi raised an eyebrow and waited for them to continue. What he heard next, he was completely unprepared for.

* * *

**Two days later**

Naruto yawned as he strolled through the tower. He'd just had breakfast, as did everyone else who'd completed the exam, as twelve-o'clock that morning had marked the end of the second test. He'd already seen some of the members of the Konoha troupe, and had heard the Sound team they'd fought against had come in at around nine-o'clock the previous night. They were the last to be admitted into the tower.

Sasuke had disappeared the morning after they'd arrived, but Kakashi-sensei had assured them both that he was being taken care of, which put them at ease.

Speaking of mornings, the morning he'd woken up with Hinata was the most rested and satisfying morning he'd ever had. It had been awkward when he'd woken up with the ever-present problem that all men have in the morning engorged to its maximum size and pressing snugly next to the sleeping Hinata's abdomen. He quickly readjusted himself, purposefully making it as painful as possible for himself, but effectively solving the problem. Any other time he would have ignored it, since he didn't like "taking care of it" for multiple reasons, but with Hinata right next to him, it would have been _reeeeally_ embarrassing for her to wake up with his dick half-way to her breasts. Though he didn't know who'd probably be _more_ embarrassed.

Allowing that thought to pass into oblivion, he'd waited until she woke up, greeting her with a tender kiss to her forehead and then to her lips, before trying to get out of bed. After getting up, they got dressed and cleaned up before heading out to the small cafeteria for breakfast. They walked hand in hand, shoulder to shoulder the whole way, but hesitantly separated as they came into the company of other chunin and genin. Since then, they'd just spent their time together, sleeping next to each other again last night and waking up in a similar manner that morning.

There really wasn't much to do other than just explore. During their time alone, the night previous, he'd explained everything he could to Hinata about his psychotic "problem" and about his powers. She'd suggested they try and practice with them, but Naruto declined, not knowing whether they were safe to test or not. Since they were instinctual, he figured he'd just learn their limits during battle.

He certainly didn't want to hurt her by testing his new, untamed powers with her around, though he doubted he'd have to wait long to be able to try them out; this morning they'd woken up with a note under the door saying they were all to meet up in the main assembly hall, and gave directions on how to get there. Going back to her room, Hinata had found an identical note under her door. Obviously the five days of the second exam were up, so this must be the passing ceremony, or something.

Hinata had gone ahead to the cafeteria to grab a drink and maybe a small snack, so he made his way there to meet her. Halfway there, he found her making her way back to him. Joining each other, they moved along toward the main hall, where everyone else was no doubt waiting.

It took several minutes before they reached it. It was a large room surrounded by concrete walls and stone-tile floors. Both sides of the room had balconies that ran along their entire length. At the other end of the room, there was a large structure of a pair of forearms, their hand's placed together in a ram seal. In the middle of the room, toward its front, stood the six other teams who'd apparently completed the second exam. There was the sound team on the very right, from where he was standing anyway, followed by what looked like the team of that Sand guy who'd talked to them while they were in line for the scrolls before the second test began. What was his name again? Gaara something-or-other?

Next to his team was Kabuto's, with the boy himself standing in front of his two mates. Beside him stood the team of Hinata's cousin, Hyuuga Neji. He didn't even turn to acknowledge their arrival.

Next was Hinata's would-have-been team, with Kiba standing at their head. Shino stood behind him, followed by Sakura. Next to them was a team Naruto had never anticipated on seeing pass. The team comprising Ino, Shikamaru and Chouji stood in single file, as did everyone else.

'_Wow, a slave-driver, an apathetic slob and a muncher. How the hell…'_ He shook his head at the absurdity of it. But what he saw next made them irrelevant. Beside _them_ stood Sasuke, his hands pocketed and his eyes glaring at them amusedly, as if he were somehow superior for being there before them.

"Yo. You're late."

Naruto huffed at his remark, even as everyone's eyes settled on them as they entered. "Feh! Don't get so high and mighty. We're here now aren't we?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes as his two teammates fell in behind him. "Either way, we've been waiting on you two to arrive before starting. You made us all wait."

Naruto crossed his arms apathetically. "That coming from you... you practically disappeared from the face of the earth, and you're telling _us_ that _we're_ late?"

Sasuke smirked, ignoring his comment. "Why don't you take a look, idiot? You might see something interesting." He pointed forward, and Naruto's gaze followed his finger.

In front of them stood an entourage of the jounin team-leaders; there was Gin-sensei and Kakashi-sensei standing next to the old Hokage, flanked by numerous other jounin Naruto either didn't recognize or didn't know by name. Even Iruka-sensei and the proctor of the first test was there. _'Oh yeah, that crazy lady from the beginning of the second test too.'_

No less than twelve high-quality shinobi stood before them, looking at them all either proudly (probably directed more towards their own team) or indifferently.

But then Naruto saw someone else. Beside Gin stood a beautiful blonde haired woman. Dressed in the usual attire of a Konoha chunin, Naruto almost didn't recognize her. _'Wow, the Old Man must have given her a job as a chunin right off the bat. Hey wait a minute, that's not fair!'_ He pouted slightly as he realized he'd been able to stand toe-to-toe with her and yet she got chunin scot-free.

He grumbled under his breath and crossed his arms. However, the look he caught from Gin made him smile. It was only slightly different, but his smile gave off a sense of pride in the three genin. Naruto smirked _'Hehe, just watch me tou-san. I'll show you how strong I've become!'_

"Your team isn't too bad. Maybe they were lucky." Gai said askance to Kakashi, standing proudly in his green spandex suit. "But as long as my team is around, getting any further is impossible."

Kakashi glanced to his right, eyeing the eccentric man with amusement. "Normally I'd agree with you, what with your insane training methods. But somehow I don't think it would be very nice of me to bet against my own team. Besides…" He narrowed his eye at the three of his students expectantly. "I have this feeling…"

Gai looked at him curiously, as if beckoning him to continue. Alas, the Cyclops only waved it off. "Well, either way we'll see who'll wins soon enough."

From beside him, Gin crossed his arms confidently, as if silently hinting that he wasn't worried. Beside him, Rangiku eyed him worriedly. She'd only just been instated to chunin, thanks to Gin's connections with the Hokage, but she couldn't say she entirely knew what she was doing. After speaking with the wizened old man several days before, they'd come to the conclusion that there _was_ an open path to and from their world hidden somewhere in the Dangai. They still hadn't discovered how exactly she'd gotten through it, since Gin claimed he was the only one capable of doing so.

Regardless, Gin had requested she be given some sort of work or something, and after describing her talents and abilities to him, he'd decided on giving her the rank of "special chunin", if only for skill alone. Special chunin was an old rank that almost never got used anymore. Basically it was for someone who was physically capable to handle higher level missions, but because she didn't know hardly anything about their world, he couldn't go ahead and give her jounin status like he'd done with Gin.

But she'd been working on that. After they'd finished with her, Gin had taken her back to his small apartment and pulled out numerous books and scrolls that Naruto had used in the Academy and given them to her to study. She had to say there was a lot to learn about, but it wasn't too difficult. However, it _did _require that she stay focused and not slack off, which for her was a bit of a difficulty.

However, her studies didn't start right away. The first few nights of their being together, Gin had explained everything that had happened, and why he'd done it, though it was surprisingly difficult for him; he wasn't the explaining type, especially not when it came to personal things. She knew it must have been hard for him to do, and she'd cried more than once during his explanation.

However, when he'd finished, she couldn't help but feel… _happy_, about it. He'd cared so much about her and she hadn't even known…

Needless to say, the first few nights were spent loving each other dearly. Once wasn't enough for either of them. For Rangiku, it was like a spring of emotion had suddenly been released, emotion she didn't know she had. And for Gin, it was the release of so much love and dedication that he'd hidden from her for so long.

It had been passionate and needed. Even now she blushed a bit in remembrance. _'We haven't had a night like that in…'_ It had been at _least_ a hundred years. Ever since Gin had joined the Shinigami Academy, their time together was cut extremely short, especially after he'd become lieutenant of fifth division so early, under Aizen's authority.

Even so… _'He certainly hasn't lost his touch,'_ she thought with a blush.

She gave a glance in the same man's direction, but his gaze was unreadable. The Hokage had suggested she be here simply to observe the trials by which genin become chunin. He explained it as something that would give her better insight into how their world worked. Indeed, she was already learning; having traveled through the forest ahead of the contestants, she could see how this place could be the end of several lives. And five days in there? It must have been torture.

"Hokage-sama will now explain the third test, so listen carefully!" Anko said loudly so they all could hear her. "Lord Hokage, if you please…"

"Yes…" he said as he drew a breath from his pipe. "For the coming third test… But before that, there is something I'd like you to know. It concerns the true reason for this exam."

Most of the students had the same look on their face. _'True reason…?'_

"'To promote friendship among countries,' and 'to raise the level of shinobi.' I don't want you to be confused about the meaning. This exam is..." he lowered his head, a shadow of darkness passing over his eyes. "A replacement for war among allied countries."

TenTen blinked. "What does that mean?"

"If you go back in time, the current allies were enemies who fought each other over who would rule. In order to prevent wasteful fighting, the stage these countries chose for fighting was this; the beginnings of the chunin selection exam."

Naruto smirked. _'Heh, I see.'_

Hinata felt kind of saddened. _'Even in peace, there is still conflict…'_

"I don't get it," said Sakura who stood between behind Shino and Kiba. "I thought this was an exam to see who will become chunin."

"It's true that this exam decides which shinobi has what it takes to become chunin. But on the other hand this exam has another side, where each country's shinobi risk their own life to protect their land's prestige." Seeing the confused looks on several face, he elaborated. "There will be leaders and influential individuals from various countries watching the exam who make up the clientele of our shinobi nations. If the strength of that country is clear, they will receive more clients. If they not, they'll lose clients. And this will signal to potential enemy countries that 'we have this much power.' And so it will send a political message to outsiders."

"Yeah but why?" Kiba yelled, almost sounding offended. "Why do we have to risk our lives in battle?"

"The strength of the country is the strength of the village. The strength of the village is the strength of the shinobi, and a shinobi's true strength can only be born through life-risking battle. This exam is a place to see each country's strength, and to show off your own powers. It only has meaning because lives are at risk, and that is why those that have come before you have fought in the chunin exam for this dream that is meaningful."

"But then why do you say things about it being for 'friendship'?" TenTen asked, not understanding why there were so many inconsistencies in the story.

"I said it in the beginning; I don't want you to confuse the purpose of this. By losing life and establishing balance. That is the shape of the friendship in the world of shinobi. Now, before we begin, I'd like to tell you one more thing; this is not just a test… This is a life risking battle, with your dreams and your country's prestige on the line."

There was silence for a few seconds before it was broken by the cold, monotone voice of the youngest Sand ninja. "I don't care what it is. Just hurry up and tell us what this 'life-risking battle' entails. "

One of the jounin beside the Hokage stepped forward. In all honesty, he looked rather sickly…

"Actually, *cough* that's where I come in." He had shaggy dark-brown hair that sat beneath his bandana-forehead protector, and dark circles under his eyes, which were almost half lidded. He looked like he'd been battling the flu or something.

"Hey everyone. I'm Gekkou Hayate,*cough.* Before the third test, there's something I'd like you all to do. Um… It's a preliminary for the third exam, to decide who'll get to go on to the, *cough* main event."

"A preliminary? What are you talking about? Why aren't the people here allowed to participate?" Shikamaru all but yelled in indignation. He'd barely made it through the second test as it was; he didn't want to have to potentially take it again because he got knocked out in the preliminary round.

"Because the first and second tests may have been too easy, we have a lot more contestants than usual. According to chunin exam rules, we must have a preliminary and reduce the number of participants for the next round." Seeing the many outraged looks and murmurs among them, he continued. "As the Hokage just mentioned, there will be many guests at the third test, so the fights could take too long, and we're limited on time…"

Of course, even though the reason was valid, he expected them not to feel any better over it, and so proved the case. "*Cough* umm… anyways, those who aren't feeling well, or those who simply want to quit after these explanations, please come forward now, since we'll be starting the preliminary round immediately."

"What?" Kiba shouted in surprise. "Why now? Can't you give us a day to prepare or something?"

Hayate coughed into his fist and shook his head. "No can do. The suddenness is part the preliminaries, plus, you all got a guaranteed day of rest yesterday."

Naruto clenched his fist. _'Heh, guess I'll be able to test these powers sooner than I thought.'_ He looked behind him to see Hinata. To his surprise, she was looking at him, as if waiting to see if he was going to quit or not. He simply smiled at her, knowing she would understand. She nodded in response. Turning back, he saw Sasuke looking over his shoulder at them, and smirking at their silent agreement to continue.

"Um, I'd like to forfeit."

Naruto's eyes widened as he heard Kabuto's voice ring out. "What? Kabuto-san? Why?"

Kabuto looked at Naruto's incredulous face with a sense of apology. "Sorry Naruto-kun, but my body's all beat up. Honestly, I haven't been able to hear out of my left ear since before the first exam. And now we'll have to risk our lives… I just…"

Naruto looked at him sadly. Kabuto had seemed like a nice guy, and he really did feel bad about his decision.

'_I would've liked to continue in this test with you guys, but I can't.'_ Kabuto adjusted his glasses, sending a sheen of light flashing over the lenses. _'Anymore of this… and that bad old blood will start to boil. Since I'm a spy, it wouldn't do any good to reveal myself here.'_

"But, do me a favor you three…" he said as he stepped out of line and approached them. "Pass this exam for me. Maybe in the future you'll be the chunin who oversees this exam, and we'll meet again."

Naruto made a face that clearly said he didn't like the boy's decision, but Kabuto simply patted the boy on the head. "Haha, keep looking cute like that and no one'll take you seriously."

Naruto's reaction was an instant glare of irritation and Kabuto removed his hand smiling. "Much better." He said nothing else as he turned and left, waving at them sympathetically.

Though he didn't see it, Naruto's face softened. It was sad to see him go. Even though he'd just met him a few days prior, he felt a sort of brotherly bond with the silver haired boy, not like an equal, but like a senior; an older brother of sorts. But the choice to quit was his decision, not anyone else's, and Naruto had no option but to respect it.

"Anyone else…?" The sickly proctor asked one final time, just to make sure. No one spoke, raised their hands, or made any motion to signal they would give up.

"Alright then… *cough* Lets begin then. Since we have twenty participants, the ten winners will continue on to the third round of the exam. This preliminary will consist of one-on-one fighting, just like a real life confrontation. *Cough,* There are basically no rules; the fight continues until one of you is knocked out or admits defeat. If you don't wanna die, then you should probably make sure we know you're giving up. But when I decide a winner has been clearly established, that's the end, since we don't want to needlessly increase the body count. I might jump in and stop things if the winner is obvious."

A panel to the upper left of the wall behind the forearm-statue opened up, revealing a small screen. "Now, I know this is sudden, but let's announce the two names of the first fight."

The screen suddenly began shuffling through those near two dozen names of those now in the small arena, drawing everyone's attention to it. They all waited with baited breath for the concluding matchup. Who would it be? Who would have the pleasure of first blood?

Naruto felt the beginnings of a bead of sweat on his cheek, even as he looked up at the scrolling board with almost unrestrained excitement.

At last the name's stopped with a prolonged _beep. _Two names stood out.

Hayate looked at them and then back to the ninja in front of him. "Akado Yoroi and Uchiha Sasuke, please remain here. The rest of you, please head to the upper balconies."

Naruto sighed regrettably and turned to follow everyone else as they made their way to the back of the room where the stairs were. "Didn't know the Uchiha were infamous for their luck," he said as he passed by Sasuke, giving him a nudging brush with his shoulder. "Try and make it entertaining."

Sasuke smirked. "Heh, don't blink, idiot."

Naruto leaned his head back to be heard. "That's why I said make it entertaining."

Hinata followed Naruto, giving Sasuke an encouraging wave. "Have fun Sasuke-kun!"

He gave a slight wave back, as if in a _get-going-already_ way, and smiled as they ran up the stairs to the balcony on the right side of the room. He faced back to the front only to see all the jounin teachers flash to the balconies without a sound, standing behind their assigned teams.

Looking to his right, his opponent stood there, waiting. _'One of Kabuto's teammates, huh? That's too bad.'_

Hayate waited until everyone was situated and raised his hands up to shoulder height. "*Cough,* ok, is everyone ready?"

Both of them nodded.

"*Cough, cough,* begin."

Yoroi's face was masked, so Sasuke couldn't see what expression was on his face, and his eyes were completely black, both having single-lens sunglasses over them. He leaned forward with his right palm flexing strangely. Sasuke almost laughed. "Sorry, but I'm going to end this in a flash."

"I wonder if you can…" Yoroi said as a blue aura of chakra appeared in his flexing hand.

Sasuke eyed the hand and huffed out softly. _'Like I won't realize to stay away from it. What's he take me for, Naruto?'_

"Bring it."

Yoroi rushed forward, lunging with his outstretched arm to grab Sasuke, who merely sidestepped every attempt, not even bothering to take his hands out of his pockets.

"Ugh, hold still!"

Then he was gone.

'_What?'_

Where once Sasuke had been standing was now only empty space. But then he heard a voice behind him. "I'm pretty sure I said don't blink."

Yoroi whirled, only to receive a smashing, chop to the neck. Before he even hit the ground, Sasuke followed up with a reverse kick that landed in between his stomach and breast-plate, sending him flying away and skidding across the floor, coming to a gradual halt some meters away.

Sasuke retracted his leg and waited for Yoroi to stand back up, but he never did. Curiously, he looked over to Hayate, and then back to Yoroi. He didn't budge. Hayate took the hint and walked over, stooping to check on the boy. After a few seconds, he stood again. "Akado Yoroi cannot continue, thus, the winner is Uchiha Sasuke."

Kakashi smiled beneath his mask. "Well, wasn't that fun! He said overenthusiastically to his two students in front of him."

Naruto huffed. "More like a killjoy. It's like a watching an overhyped movie and already knowing the ending."

"But, it's to be expected," Hinata said with a smile. "It's our Sasuke after all."

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Still a boring movie. I HAD TO BLINK TWICE YOU SLACKER!"

Below him, Sasuke glared up at him and shot him the finger, to which Naruto sniggered satisfactorily.

Beside them, Sakura yelled out excitedly, cheering on Sasuke's coolness, which was echoed with almost competitive effort by Ino across the room.

Their balcony was shared by team three, comprised of Kiba, Shino, and Sakura, and team "Gai" which was comprised of Hyuuga Neji, TenTen and Lee. On the other side of the room, team how-the-fuck-did-they-pass (Shikamaru, Ino and Chouji) shared a balcony with the Sand and the Sound village teams.

TenTen watched as Neji stared down "impassively" at the Uchiha as he headed up the stairs to join his team. He may have looked stoic, but she knew him better; he was, ever so slightly, intimidated. _'Last year's rookie was Hyuuga Neji. This year's rookie is Uchiha Sasuke. I wonder which is stronger,'_ she thought with a smile.

The board began shuffling names again, stopping after several tense seconds on two new names. "Aburame Shino and Abumi Zaku, please come down to the floor."

Zaku pushed off of the railing he'd been leaning on, his arms done up in slings, having almost been broke from the force of Naruto's berserker kick earlier in the forest. "Heh, who's this loser?"

As Sasuke walked over to meet his team, he brushed past the high-collar-coated boy in sunglasses who could only have been that Shino guy.

"Come on Shino! Kick his butt! Yeah!"

Naruto looked over to the cheering Sakura, only to see a smug looking Kiba and a confident looking Kurenai-sensei.

"Hmph, like she needs to cheer…" Naruto mumbled under his breath. "He can't even use his arms."

Hinata looked at Naruto as he spoke and then looked back at the Sound nin below, activating her Byakugan curiously. As her vision became monochrome and piercing, she blinked in surprise. "A-actually Naruto-kun, neither of his arms are broken; they only have hairline fractures running down the length of his forearms."

Naruto looked at her in surprise. "Really? I could have sworn I heard them crack…"

"W-well, he has two tubes in his arms that are probably used for his jutsu. They probably added extra support when you hit him."

"He can't still use them, can he?"

Even as he asked, the boy in question below pulled an arm out of its sling, yelling something about it being enough to take Shino out.

"Guess that answers my question…" he mumbled as a shockwave of air hit him in the face from below. Shielding his eyes only slightly, since the air pressure wasn't that bad, he was able to see Shino roll away from the blast. "…He out?"

Hinata peered on carefully. "No… I don't think so…" She hesitated for a second, only to gasp aloud. Worried, Naruto turned to her questioningly.

"What is it?"

"B-b-bugs! His body is completely infested with bugs!"

Naruto turned back to the rising figure of Shino, the smoke around him clearing to reveal small black dots on his cheek and collar. One might have thought it was only blood, until they saw it all move in a random, very un-blood-like direction; up.

"Ah, the Aburame clan. I've met a few. Apparently they make a contract with the bugs when they're born, trading their bodies as nests in return for the insects' loyalty and obedience," Kakashi said and he watched. "They're really quite frightening."

"Y-you mean they actually let insects live inside of them?" Rangiku said from beside Gin, who looked similarly interested.

"Mhm, whole swarms."

Gai looked over to where his rival's team stood and smiled. "Oh, there's a pretty new face I haven't seen before!" he exclaimed in Rangiku's direction. "They call me Konoha's Beautiful Green Beast; _Maito Gai!_"

He smiled, the light somehow gleaming off his teeth as he gave her what they would later call his "nice-guy" pose, cocking his thumb back at himself.

Rangiku blinked at him. "Um… nice to meet you? I'm Matsumoto Rangiku." No one would know how hard it was for her not to continue and say her division number and rank. Her title was as much a part of her name as her breasts were part of her body.

"My, what a magnificent creature you are! I would be honored if after these exams you would permit me to date you!"

She blinked again. "…eh…?"

"Oooh! Gai-sensei! Always so cool!" Lee cried out as he watched his favorite teacher using his manly charms.

"Erm, Gai, you should probably know-…" Kakashi tried to warn before Gai found his face centimeters from a very pointy, and very threatening wakizashi.

Gin leered down at him, a deep, dark shadow crossing over his features in an almost comical way.

"Mine."

It was just one word, but Gai hesitantly stepped backwards, hands to his face in an apologetic way. "Ah… I see… I was unaware… forgive me…"

Naruto rolled his eyes. "He's messing with you. Relax."

Gai smiled at them as Gin returned the sword back to its home in its sheath. "I guessed it was something like that, but I didn't think you were in relationship."

Gin shrugged. "I play 'em pretty close to the chest."

Gai smiled even brighter. "Ah! A shining example of youthful emotions! Regardless of what the world may think, I respect you, Ichimaru-san!"

Gin half sweat-dropped. "…Thanks?"

Kakashi sighed from beside his comrade. "Sorry, that's just how Gai is. Try and bear with it."

Gin shook his head. "Not a problem. I like him." He looked over to the man and was silent for a moment. "But that suit scares me."

Kakashi nodded admittedly. "Yeah, that's normal."

"Winner *cough*, Aburame Shino."

They turned back to the arena to find Zaku in the ground, his right arm missing, and his left arm barely hanging from his body. Naruto's eyebrows twitched as he watched Shino return to their balcony. "Man… I really don't want to fight a guy like him…" he mumbled.

Hinata, more in an attempt to act brave in the face of… well, creepy-crawly insects than actual encouragement stammered out, "D-don't worry Naruto-kun, I-I'm sure you would win."

Naruto huffed. "I _know_ I'd win. I'm just saying, I don't want to fight him."

Hinata remained quiet and turned back to the next fight that was about to begin. While Kiba and Sakura congratulated Shino on his victory, the next two combatants had been called down from their perches.

"Misumi Tsurugi… and Kankuro…" Sasuke muttered under his breath. His eyes narrowed on both of them. _'Another of Kabuto's teammates, and one of those Sand guys…' _He smirked. _'This should be interesting.'_

The match was short. Tsurugi, despite his warnings that he'd follow through, snapped Kankuro's neck like it was nothing. Naruto shivered at the sound. "That's nasty…"

"…How terrible…" Rangiku whispered to no one in particular. _'Children killing children... that's barbaric.'_ Even in the Gotei Thirteen, very few shinigami were children. They might have looked young, but they'd lived a long time before that. Gin was one of the few youths to be able to pass at such a young age. But even then, his case was an extreme rarity. The fact was she'd seen children die before, though always to a Hollow. Never to other children.

"It's the way of the Shinobi," Kakashi said in response. He didn't look at her, and instead kept his focus on the two below him. "The Shinigami have their way, and we have ours, however different they may be."

"You're all stupid."

The four of them turned to Sasuke, his right eye closed and his left eye half open in mock boredom, the Sharingan just barely visible between his lids. "It's not over yet."

Naruto and Hinata looked back to the scene, reexamining it for clues as to how a dead person could still win a fight. Hinata was the first to see it, with her Byakugan being the more suitable of their three Kekkei Genkai to see it.

Then Naruto noticed it as well. His Rinnegan afforded him vision similar to what Sasuke described the Sharingan gave him; the ability to see chakra, and with time and practice, even the nature of the chakra itself. Right now, Naruto was probably seeing the same thing Sasuke was; thin strings of chakra that led from the limbs of th

e dead boy's body, back into the strange bundle he'd been forced to drop when he was attacked by Tsurugi.

Hinata could see even _more_ than that. She saw what those strings were attached to. "He's-!"

She didn't have time to announce it before the head of the "boy" did a full one-eighty, spinning to laugh victoriously in Tsurugi's face. "Is it my turn now?"

The Leaf genin wasn't even given time to respond before his opponent's hands reversed their joints and wrapped around him, along with a second pair of arms that sprouted from his midsection.

Just as quickly, the bundled object Kankuro had dropped at the onset of Tsurugi's initial attack shifted slightly as a hand appeared out of the bandages. With a tug, the bandages flew apart, revealing the hidden Kankuro inside.

"T-this is… a puppet?" Tsurugi exclaimed in surprise.

Naruto titled his head to the side. "Puppet? I see, so that's what those strings of chakra were for. They control the dummy while the master hides in safety."

Sasuke smirked. "Looks like it."

"Isn't that kind of unfair though? I mean, it's almost two versus one," Hinata objected, looking at Kakashi for his opinion.

"Actually, a puppet is simply another ninja tool. Like kunai or shuriken, its equipment. Besides, a puppet user's weakness is that they're notoriously long-distanced. Hand to hand combat really isn't their thing."

Sasuke eyed the black-clad lad as he cleaned up his match below. "H'n… I'll keep that in mind."

Naruto exhaled as Tsurugi fell to the ground, half-crushed by the constricting force of Kankro's puppet's strength. "Geez… Kabuto's team isn't having any luck today. Probably a good thing he left I guess."

"Well, he did warn us," agreed Sasuke as he shifted his position against the railing.

"Winner, Kankuro."

"These things are kind of brutal…" Rangiku commented quietly, her eye narrowing as the medical team came over and picked up Tsurugi's limp body.

"Ignoring the sociological difference between your world and ours, we _are_ soldiers after all. We've all chosen this path, and we're willing to walk it. It's not like we're blindsided."

"Still…" She trailed off as the next two names to be chosen cycles on the screen.

Naruto turned to Hinata as the board did its thing, smiling mischievously. "Hey Hina-chan, if we get pair up against each other, want me to forfeit for ya?"

Hinata flinched in surprise. "W-what? No! You shouldn't forfeit for me! If you do you'll have to wait for next year!

Naruto smirked askance. "I know, but I had to ask, since you would probably be the one to forfeit for me."

Hinata blinked. Was she that open? "Naruto-kun… I-"

"Don't."

She flinched again. His voice wasn't cold, but rather, was warm and comforting. "Don't quit. If we have to fight each other, let's agree to go all out. If it comes down to it, I don't want you giving up without trying."

Hinata smiled, despite herself. Honestly, she _had_ already considered the possible fight, and decided she'd allow Naruto to pass in her place. "B-but you're stronger than me anyway, so I don't really think have much of a chance…"

"Except you know me best." Naruto turned and eyed her, as if he were trying to get across another meaning to the phrase. "You know my weaknesses better than anyone else here, save Sasuke, dad, and Kakashi-sensei, and you can use them to your advantage."

"But you also know mine…" she offered in flailing defense.

Naruto smiled and closed his eyes. He thought she'd say that. "Heh, as if I'd ever think of using your weaknesses against you. _Especially_ you."

She shivered as he whispered out that last part directly to her, eyeing her knowingly. She knew what he meant; a man would never dream of taking advantage of his one true love, Naruto above all. _'Of course… Naruto would never consider something like that.'_ It was a matter of principle.

Then a thought entered her mind, and she smiled mentally, holding her finger to her chin cutely. "T-then d-d-does that mean you won't p-p-p-protect me if we fight…?"

Naruto's expression faltered for a moment before he realized his error in words. He blushed embarrassedly as he waved his hands in front of him "N-no, no! Of course I'd protect you _too!_ I'd never hurt you!"

"B-but if we fight then you'll have to attack me… So…" She turned away, but peeked at him with the corner of her eyes as he humorously sputtered an apologetic explanation of what he meant. Sadly, words failed him. Knowing he wasn't doing any better than he was a few seconds earlier, he slumped his shoulder and merely returned to leaning over the railing gloomily.

Hinata snickered at him cutely and nuzzled up next to him, holding his left arm with both hands as she leaned against him encouragingly.

Gin chuckled silently behind them as he watched. He'd been convinced of it for a while, and he'd die proclaiming that Hinata was the best thing that had ever happened to Naruto. Sure he'd been fine without her, but there was just something about love that makes men do the craziest things. Naruto was already a crazy kid, and him being in love made him all the worse. The thing was… "I think he's rubbin' off on her," he said only loud enough for Rangiku to hear.

She looked at him, and then the two young teens. "You mean besides the fact that they're actually rubbing against each other?"

Gin laughed, bringing a smile to Rangiku's face. "Haha, yeah…" He eyed his students' backs, a fond gleam in his unseen eyes. "They're good fer each other. She's got confidence issues, an' he's got confidence to spare. Not ta mention his playful side can be a bit… excessive."

Rangiku looked pointedly at Hinata's back. "And she's caught it?"

Gin's grin increased. "Like the flu."

"Regardless…" Kakashi began, turning away from where he'd been listening to them. "I doubt it will end up with them against each oth-"

"I won't give up Sasuke!"

Kakashi blinked and turned back to the center of the large room. "Ohh? I missed the lineup… Who is it?" he cocked his head to Sasuke. The Uchiha in question was leaning against the railing, his back deliberately directed toward the combatants now behind him.

"Tell me when they're finished," he said dismissively, completely ignoring his sensei's question.

His interest piqued due to his student's _dis_interest, he looked beyond him to see for himself who it was. "Well isn't that a curious thing?" he asked rhetorically, a smile forming beneath his mask, cocking his head at the raven-haired boy. "Aren't they, like, your biggest fans?"

The Uchiha's dismissive posture didn't change. "If you have nothing constructive to say, then be silent."

Kakashi chuckled under his breath as he looked back to the arena. "Haruno Sakura and… Yamanaka Ino, was it? By what odds did they get matched against each other?"

Gin turned to his colleague. "They got some history?"

The Cyclops shrugged. "A bit. I think they were friends once, until their rival-love for Sasuke drove them apart."

Sasuke snorted. "Tch, 'love' my ass. They only like me for my looks."

"'Cause your personality's so attractive, right Sasuke?" Naruto said, perking up.

The Uchiha gave his teammate with a one-eyed glare. "Like yours is much better."

Naruto grinned from ear to ear as his left arm snaked around Hinata's waist, pulling her to him tightly and causing her to _eep!_ in surprise. "Yeah, but _I_ have a girlfriend."

Sasuke made a _tsk_-ing sound in the back of throat and looked the opposite way with a slight grin. "Heh, you got lucky."

Naruto rubbed the back of his head with a grin. "Well, I can't disagree with you there," he said as he turned his gaze to look lovingly at Hinata. She blushed under his eyes and averted her gaze nervously.

The three genin flinched at the loud slam of skin on skin as the two girls fighting nailed each other in the jaw, each hard enough to send the other flying several meters away from the contact point.

Naruto winced sympathetically. "Ooo… that's gonna leave a mark."

"Are they ok?" Hinata asked worriedly as Hayate took a few steps forward to examine them.

TenTen grinned from her place by her team, which was nearby. "They're completely out of it."

As if the reinforce her theory, Hayate turned back to the observing audience. "Because neither participants are able to battle, this battle is a draw due to double knock-out. As a result, both contestants are disqualified."

"W'll that sucks."

"Oh good, I can turn around now."

"Kinda cold considering they were railing about you half the match, isn't it?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Obsessed fan-girls are the least of my concerns. They've been that way since before the Academy."

Naruto gave him a lopsided stare. "You know what they say; dunno what you've got until you lose it."

Sasuke's eyes rolled upward, as if he were considering it. "You make it sound like a bad thing."

Kakashi chuckled nervously and placed his hand on Sasuke's shoulder. "Why don't you give one of them a try Sasuke?" he asked, before leaning in to speak quietly in his ear. "You remember what we talked about in Wave right? It couldn't hurt to give one a chance could it?"

Sasuke deftly looked to his left. Seeing Naruto's attention drawn away, he murmured back, "And which one would you suggest? Both are flat-chested, skin-showing, vain, long-haired , near pre-teens."

He turned away, his point momentarily made. Kakashi was silent for a moment before he spoke again. "In the end, it's _your_ decision. But just remember they won't always be that way. Girls usually mature into women pretty quick you know."

Sasuke eyed him skeptically. "'…Usually?'"

Kakashi's eye squinted in a smile. "Well, I can't speak for everyone. Just think about it, ok?"

Sasuke turned away, back to the expansive room. "…Fine."

After a moment, Kakashi nodded to himself and backed away, back to his spot on the wall behind his student.

In all honesty, Sasuke wasn't opposed to the idea of a girlfriend, or at least, "significant other." The only problem was that with half of the girls his age practically fawning over him, it was difficult to consider any of them as decent dating material. Granted some of them _were_ attractive, but attractive girls were a dime a dozen; how could he ever be expected to find the good ones. If he was going to date someone, it couldn't be some flaky priss who only saw his handsome looks. In all honesty, though he had his preferences, looks really didn't matter to him; he wanted someone who would love him, would be dutiful to him as a wife (if they even got that far) and who was strong. Now, not necessarily strong, as in powerful, though that might be a bonus, but rather strong as in… independent. Capable. Unafraid to handle herself.

No one he'd seen so far was even close to fitting those criteria. Even Hinata, for as strong as she was becoming, wasn't in his sights. Well, she wouldn't be anyway, since she was so "lovingly devoted to her one and only love, Naruto-kun" that the idea of being a wife to anyone else probably would make her vomit violently at the thought. Not exactly willing material.

Anyway, she was taken, and he respected (begrudgingly, mind you) his blonde headed idiot of a teammate for his catch… However the hell he caught her in the first place, he'd never know. And by no means would he ask him for tips. _'Heh, he'd probably just shrug his shoulders, pull Hinata over and say he had no idea how he got such a beautiful, angelic, wonderful, blah blah blah girl.'_

He chuckled to himself at the thought. As abstract as his rhetoric predictions of Naruto's actions in any given scenario were, he could always see them coming true with relative ease. Whether that particular ability was a gift or a curse had yet to be seen, but he was almost always right. _'Maybe I just know them too well… Probably.'_

He shook head had and returned to his earlier thoughts. _'Ino or Sakura, huh…? I wonder…'_ He gazed forward, unblinking, his eyes focusing on nothing in front of him. Both of them, physically, had a long way to go. They were "cute," granted, but that was a far cry from what he had in mind. The fact that he liked long hair on girls had somehow become common knowledge at some point during the Academy phase, and practically every girl began growing their hair out in an attempt to impress him… or at least catch his eye.

As he looked back on it, the only person who didn't was Hinata. In all likelihood, it was probably because of her poor self-image, at the time anyway. But he didn't know that. He just thought that all the girls were enraptured with him, and indeed it seemed like he was right. At that point he just ignored all of them. Hinata was simply another one of those girls to him. _'As I look back on it, it should have been obvious; she wasn't eyeing me at all. The only one who wasn't interested in me at all, was ironically the only one who cared for Naruto, the only one who wasn't cared for.'_

But it was too late to regret that ignorant decision now. He'd made his choice, and she'd made hers.

"Winner, Temari."

The words were quiet to his ears, but loud enough to softly jarred him from his thoughts, bringing him back to reality, to the present.

"Man, that's brutal." Naruto grimaced at the scene below him.

The girl from the Sand village team had completely obliterated the girl from the team beside them (TenTen, if he remembered the name correctly).

"What happened?" Sasuke asked looking Naruto curiously.

"Weren't you watching? That Temari chick just owned the girl from their team." He cocked his thumb past Sasuke, pointing to where Lee and Neji stood, their sensei watching the fight from behind them.

"Hm, how boring," came the victorious voice of the blonde female.

TenTen was bent over backwards, quite literally, on Temari's battle-fan, having landed on it due to her jutsu. Blood trickled down, or rather, _up_ her face, considering she was almost hanging upside down from her position.

"I… I think it was a Wind technique…" Naruto muttered. Hinata looked at him curiously.

"How do you know?"

"I don't know. I just… I look at it and… somehow recognize it. I think it may be because of…" he trailed off and tapped the side of his head at eye level, not wanting to mention his gift in the presence of potential opponents.

Hinata made a face of realization. It was strange how easy she was beginning to accept the strange things that supposedly came from his newfound Kekkei Genkai. Really, all the things he did during the second test, even if it wasn't consciously done… all the things he was beginning to discover… it seemed too fantasy-like for a single bloodline ability to grant so many amazing powers.

Their attention was drawn away from each other however, when Termari's bored, but victorious, barely-there smile took on a more menacing and cold-hearted appearance.

Hinata's eyes widened as she realized what she wanted to do, while Naruto's eyes just narrowed in unexpressed disappointment and anger. "S-she's not going to…!" she stammered in disbelief, even as Temari shifted her weight and threw the unconscious TenTen from her battle-fan, not at all caring that she would land harshly on the numerous, scattered, and needless to say _sharp_ weapons around her.

Before Naruto even considered the idea to try and use his new powers to keep her from landing, Lee had left his position on the balcony beside them and flashed down to the floor, catching the defeated girl just in time to keep her from hitting the ground. He slid back a meter, his feet pushing weapons away from his path as he slid.

"Nice catch," Temari said with a menacing grin.

"What are you doing?" Lee raged at her angrily. "Is this how you treat someone who gave her all in battle?"

She snorted uncaringly. "Shut up and take that loser out of here."

His eyes instantly burned at her, and without warning, he charged. "**Konoha Senp****ū****!**"

Temari quickly brought her closed fan up vertically to bock his horizontal sweep. Metal and muscle met with a clang, Temari's fan budging only slightly. She smirked at him. "Just as I thought, you're as weak as you look."

"What did you say?" Lee growled as he glowered at her.

"Lee! That's enough!" Gai said as he jumped down to the arena floor. Lee reluctantly did as he was told, and Temari let out a mumbled curse, having lost the opportunity to fight him too.

"Temari! Get up here. You're the winner, so stop messing around with that pathetic guarding guy." The monotone voice, though low, cut through the room like a knife. They all looked up at the youngest boy on the Sand team. He was looking down at Termari with a strange expression, as if he were disappointed that she would waste her time fighting him.

And like a child might to a parent, Temari complied, holstering her fan on her back and returning to her brothers.

Lee clenched his teeth and turned away, walking back over to pick TenTen up as the medical team came out. Gai watched him go before turning back to the foreign ninja above him. "Genin of the Sand… I'd like to warn you about something, if that's alright."

The three blinked in surprise, and Gai looked up at them confidently. "Don't underestimate him."

None of them made any sort of facial expression to show they acknowledged his words, but he knew they'd heard him, and whether they wanted to or not, there would be a bit a trepidation when any of them faced Lee. By simply suggesting they shouldn't underestimate him, it indicated there was more to him than what was apparent, which, while true, they didn't know.

They were broken from their thoughts by the sickly proctor. "*Cough cough* if you'll clear the floor, we need to get on with the next match."

Gai nodded and move away as the medical team took TenTen away on a stretcher while a cleanup crew began picking up all the weapons.

"Them Sand fellas 're serious folks," Gin said aloud, though the fact was painfully obvious regardless.

Naruto grinned despite himself. "Kinda makes me excited for my match." He eyed the remaining opponents carefully. _'Shikamaru, the two from Sound, that Gaara guy from the Sand, Hinata, Lee, and that guy.'_

He glared pointedly over at Neji, who eyed him similarly. "I really hope I get that bastard." He muttered quietly.

Sasuke smirked. "Well here's your chance to find out." As he spoke he pointed to the now active screen as it ran through the remaining names.

It ran for eight seconds, each one longer than the last. When at last the board froze, Naruto's eyes blinking in surprise.

Hayate looked at the board and then back to the gathered genin. "If Uzumaki Naruto and Inuzuka Kiba would please come down…"

Naruto mumbled something incoherent before swinging his legs over the railing and dropping to the floor, followed swiftly by Kiba. They eyed each other as they took their positions across from each other.

Hayate looked at them both for a few seconds before speaking. "Are both contestants ready?"

Both nodded and he echoed their motion. "Begin."

Naruto simply stuffed his hands in his pockets, waiting for Kiba to do something. However, the Inuzuka didn't move; instead he examined Naruto a bit more thoroughly.

"It's been a while since the Academy Naruto. I'm a lot stronger than I was back then."

Naruto smirked. "I could say the same about myself. But I'll tell you this now; I'm a lot stronger than you."

He snorted. "As if!"

Akamaru let out a sharp "Arf!" from inside his jacket, catching Naruto's attention.

"Oi, you should probably send him away. I don't wanna hurt the puppy."

Now it was Kiba's turn to smirk as he pulled the dog out of his jacket and placed him on the ground. "Don't worry, Akamaru and me fight together. Don't underestimate our jutsu!"

The blonde grinned and withdrew his hands form his pockets. "I'm ready when you are."

* * *

Kankuro couldn't help but take interest in the current fight. Though the fighting itself had yet to actually start, he was looking forward to it. Gaara had taken an early interest in practically everyone on this kids team, including the kid himself. Naturally, Gaara only took interest in strong people, but he was still human, if only barely so, and was fallible. To be more precise, he was interested in whether the blonde kid would live up to Gaara's expectations or not.

However, he'd recently sensed that his youngest sibling was becoming more and more unstable as the exams went on, and he had no doubt in his mind what would likely become of those who had caught Gaara's eye. _'It's really rare for Gaara to be this interested in multiple people. All of that kid's team is a target for Gaara.'_

For some reason, his little brother had chosen them, out of all the examinees _before_ the exam even got underway, though he hadn't said so directly. Kankuro had noticed him looking over at them when they'd first arrived for the first test, and it wasn't the "I'm mildly interested, and by that I mean not interested at all" kind of look. It was the "I want to kill them if they prove to be strong."

And he'd seen that look too many times to forget. With that same look, his attention was captured by the blonde in the arena now. Earlier, it seemed as though Gaara had been proud of himself for thinking of Sasuke as a worthy test-to-be of his "existence," and he was no doubt looking forward to seeing the same with this Naruto kid too.

Glancing over at his blood sibling, he could see the look of impatience on his face. _'He's getting more and more unstable as the exam continues. Man, I feel sorry for the poor fool who's got to fight him.'_

Truth was, he wasn't too far from the mark. Gaara's hands tightened around his biceps, his patience wearing thin. He'd found a potential goldmine of opponents who could make his life worth meaning. If they proved strong, he'd be… well, not "happy," but as close to happy as he would ever be.

'_Uzumaki Naruto… show me your power.'_

* * *

"I'll end this quickly!" Kiba announced as he dropped to a knee, his hands together in the tiger seal. "**Shikyaku no Jutsu**!"

Naruto narrowed his eyes as he saw the small blue wisps of chakra exude from his body, even as he saw it travel to his limbs. Unlike how Hinata described the Byakugan, it seemed as though his Rinnegan allowed him to see where the chakra was going, not unlike how Sasuke described his Sharingan.

Kiba waited a second before dropping to all fours. His nails lengthened and sharpened, now looking less like weak cartilage and more like razor steel.

"Here goes!" And with that he surged forward.

Naruto didn't have time to blink before a sharp swipe of his claws tore into his right shoulder, shredding his shirt like nothing and opening shallow gashes along his skin; shallow because he'd managed to dodge at the last instant.

'_Fast!'_

Pulling out a trio of kunai, he flung them at the Inuzuka, who merely hopped away, leaving the blades to bury themselves harmlessly in the concrete wall behind him.

"Now Akamaru!"

Naruto turned as he heard the small clicking of nails on stone as Akamaru leapt at him, mouth open to bite him. Dropping to the floor, he ducked the flying dog and leapt away as soon as he'd cleared him. But as soon as he landed, he was immediately set upon by Kiba who was doing a god job of keeping him on the defensive. "How's that? You can't attack us like this!"

Naruto grunted as another slash opened on hos adjacent shoulder. _'Shit, I don't want to use Shinsō on my comrades. I'll have to put my other powers to the test!'_

Leaping back he brought his hands together quickly. "**Kage bunshin no Jutsu!**"

With a poof of smoke five others of himself appeared and scattered, some running around and others going straight for Kiba.

The dog-boy immediately backed up. _'Kage bunshin? Since when could Naruto use that technique? We'll have to even it out with our combination jutsu.'_ He turned his head to where his pet was snapping at a clone's shins even as another tried to sneak up on the dog from behind.

"Akamaru! C'mere!"

The dog turn to its master and rushed over, standing loyally next to its owner.

"He's teaming up on us Akamaru; lets show him what we can do!"

"Arf, arf!"

With a swipe of an arm, Kiba reached into his back pocket and fingered two small spheres, which he promptly tossed to the floor. The resulting smoke spread around the arena, easily blinding everyone in the battle zone. Naruto shielded his eyes as the smoke enveloped him and his clones.

'_Smoke bombs?'_ He squinted his eyes trying to see even a silhouette of his opponent, to no avail. After a few seconds, he was almost flayed as two grey blurs tore past him.

"**Jūjin Bunshin!**"

His eyes widened as two identical (and very tangible) Kibas dashed past him, slashing with their claws.

He barely had time to curse before his arms swung out to face them both. Without his even realizing it, the ground beneath him cracked as a massive force of energy slammed into both opponents and even his own clones, knocking them back and dispelling them respectively.

The smoke remained though, too thick and widespread to disperse so easily.

Both Kibas rolled to their feet, remaining in their four-legged stance. "The hell? Again!"

And in again they rushed, swiping with their razor sharp claws. Once again Naruto flung his arms out, this time intentionally, and watched as they were knocked away by the invisible wall of energy. _'Man! I love this power!'_

But they came back undeterred, dashing around him quickly. "Come on Akamaru!"

Naruto watched as both of them shoved off the ground and began spinning at crazy speeds, their forms becoming only one continuous blur of motion as they twirled around like a pair of mobile drills. _'Crap! Gotta use it again!'_

He put his arms out in front of him and fired.

At least, it was supposed to. "Wha-?"

"**Gatsūga!**"

They slammed into him, his clothes ripping audibly and his skin opening into numerous deep sized cuts, their spinning claws flinging droplets of his blood into the air where it continued to follow the laws of physics, splattering everywhere.

Naruto cried out in pain as his form went skipping across the ground, coming to a stop some several meters away. By now, the smoke had mostly cleared, and with its disappearance came the reactionary expressions of the audience.

"Naruto-kun!" Hinata yelled, wanting to jump over the railing and help him. She and Sasuke had both been watching with their doujutsu, since the smoke made it difficult for anyone without excellent eyesight to see. But all Sasuke could do was read the movements of the smoke and decipher what was happening within by using sound. For Hinata, it was much easier; her Byakugan allowed her to see everything.

What she saw left he dumbfounded; the same technique that Naruto had used against the Sound team and the Rain tea, the move that had completely obliterated them all, _failed._ For what reason she didn't know, only that every time Naruto that technique… what was it again? Shinra Tensei? …the chakra in his body would surge for a brief moment. But just now when Naruto had tried to use it again, the chakra surged, but never released.

'_Why didn't it release?'_

Then it hit her. _'Of course! The technique must require a certain amount of chakra to use, and if it doesn't charge first, it won't work!'_ She quickly thought back to just a few moments before when Naruto had used it and then failed. Carefully analyzing the short memory, she tried to sort out the time it would take for the technique to charge. _'He used it once… and then a second later he tried it again. So it takes more than one second to prepare…'_

She looked back the fight, clearly able to see her boyfriend's confused expression. For whatever reason, she felt bad for not being able to communicate the problem. _'I'll… I'll just have to trust he can figure it out himself… Be careful, Naruto-kun…'_

Naruto groaned painfully as he sat back up, blood now beginning to coat his skin and soak into his shirt. _'Shit…! Why didn't it go off? I felt the chakra there, so why…?'_ He slowly stood, steadying himself as Kiba and the transformed Akamaru prowled a bit away. _'I guess it's not a jutsu I can use in quick succession…'_ He looked down at his hands curiously. _'I guess fighting isn't the worst way to find out my new power's limits.'_

Kiba however was curious about what his opponent had done. "Dunno what kind of jutsu you use, but it won't be enough against our Animal/Human Imitation Technique!"

Naruto lightly rubbed the blood from his left eye that was pouring down from a cut on his forehead. But he felt some off as soon as he closed his eyes. They felt different, as if something was missing…

Instantly he slipped his headband from around his neck and looked into it, using it as a makeshift mirror. Despite the dirt and grime, it was enough to find out what he wanted. He grimaced at what he saw.

"Shit…"

His Rinnegan stared back at him, proud purple sclera and multi-ringed irises focusing on his reflection.

The Inuzuka's last attack must have knocked his contacts clean out of his eyes. _'And it's not like I have spares just sitting around… Guess I ain't got a choice…'_

With a lopsided, accepting grin, he sighed and retied the headband back around his neck. "…I didn't want to reveal this until the third exam, but I guess it doesn't matter much at this point," he said as he tightened the knot and returned his hands to his side.

Kiba blinked questioningly at the blonde, not understanding what he meant. As if in answer to his thoughts, and probably the thoughts of everyone else in the room, he raised his head and let out a long, deep breath. At the end of it, he opened his eyes for the world to see.

Though varied, each person in the room was experiencing the same, single unanimous emotion;

Surprise.

* * *

Kurenai narrowed her eyes, not knowing what it was exactly she was staring at. "What is that…?"

Her question was half-echoed by Gai as he stuttered out his own question. "Kakashi…! Is that… Please tell me I'm dreaming…!" She turned to him curiously; it seemed as if he knew what it was.

Kakashi almost smirked. "You're not. What you see is one-hundred percent genuine."

Kurenai turned to her colleagues inquisitively. "What is it? I see what he's talking about, but I'm not sure what I'm looking at."

Gai, with a bead of sweat running down his face and widened, disbelieving eyes, grit his teeth as he answered her. "_The _strongest doujutsu in the world; Rinnegan! Kakashi… how did…?"

Kakashi smirked and shrugged. "We're not quite sure ourselves. But regardless, now that he's revealed it, he probably won't hold back…"

Kurenai's brow furrowed. "Most powerful? How can that be?"

Kakashi chuckled. "It may sound cheesy, but it just randomly appeared without any sort of apparent stimulus at all."

Kurenai frowned. "So, you have the Hyuuga's Byakugan, the Uchiha's Sharingan, and now the Rinnegan? I'm beginning to think the Hokage didn't switch our students up just for potential's sake."

"No, he only recently awakened it. We had no idea he carried the gene for it beforehand. Actually, to be perfectly honest, we're not even sure how he got it in the first place."

"So… what can it do?" she asked curiously.

Kakashi gave her a rather _un_knowing look. "No idea."

* * *

The Hokage felt a smile tug at his lips. It had been difficult for him to believe that Naruto had the Rinnegan when he'd first been told, but now there was no mistaking it. _'There's no doubt about it, that's definitely the Rinnegan. But how could he have gotten it? Kakashi said he'd suffered pain in his eyes, and then one day they just manifested… But is that actually plausible?'_ Nevertheless, he was definitely looking forward to seeing what Naruto, the boy he could easily call his second grandson, would do with it. Above all though, he was proud.

The earliest part of Naruto's life had been hell, and no doubt he still harbored the pain and hatred of those memories deep within him. But for whatever reason, the Heavens had decided that his life should get better, and with that decision came Gin, the only person in the world who would offer to call Naruto his son. But then that was only the beginning; after him came Hinata (which he'd heard about from his gossiping secretary, much to his entertainment), who clearly loved him as more than just a friend, even as he eyed her momentarily, her eyes showing only the greatest of concerns for her boyfriend. And now the Rinnegan, a genetic tool of such legendary power…

Where once Naruto had nothing, now he had everything, and _all_ jutsu were now within his grasp.

Neji narrowed his activated Byakugan eyes as he saw the boy's eyes for the first time, while listening to the conversation the jounin sensei were having. _'Rinnegan? I've never heard of such a thing before. And the way they say it's so powerful… how could a third-rate, generic loser ninja get his hands on something like that?'_

He eyed the boy down below him. His expression had changed. Where his eyes were once blue, attentive and energetic, they were now calm, confident and authoritative.

'…_Even his attitude had changed.'_

Across the room, someone else was having just has hard time believe what was right in front of his eyes.

Orochimaru, thought disguised, couldn't stop his eyes from widening. _'It's impossible, but… there's no mistaking it! It _is_ the Rinnegan!'_ His mind went back to when he was in Akatsuki, those enigmatic eyes of their reclusive leader… So untouchable, so powerful… And now before him was another with those same eyes. Identical eyes.

He couldn't stop his slithering tongue from licking his lips in excited anxiousness. With this revelation, Naruto was now also on his list. The last of the Sharingan with Sasuke, and the only other Rinnegan he'd even seen with Naruto. _'Plus he's the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki to boot… What luck!'_

But he could do nothing in his current condition, so he simply continued to watch, though with renewed interest. Sasuke's complete floor-wiping of Yoroi had been enough to make him certain the Uchiha would grow to be worthy of becoming his next vessel, but he hadn't had any sort of clue to _this._

This changed things. Big time.

'_Fufufu, both descendant eyes of the Sage of Six Paths within my grasp…!'_ The concept was almost overwhelming.

Almost.

* * *

"Dude, what's up with your eyes?" Kiba asked, momentarily ceasing his physical hostilities.

"What you mean, 'what's up with them?'" Naruto asked, slightly offended.

"Well, look at them! They're all freaky lookin'."

Naruto glowered at him. "They're my eyes, asshole. I was wearing contacts before. These are what my eyes really look like."

Kiba examined him for a moment before shrugging. "…Do they do anything?"

Naruto deadpanned. "No, they're just to creep people out. Of course they do something!"

"Alright, alright, keep your shirt on. No harm in askin'. I mean, Kurenai-sensei's eyes are different and they don't do anything."

Kurenai felt an eye twitch at his comment as she mumbled to herself. "And guess who's running extra laps after this is over…"

Naruto thought about it for a moment before conceding. "Fair enough." He grinned as he raised his arms back up to face the two Kibas. "Though, I wouldn't stare for too long if I were you…"

Kiba flinched slightly, momentarily forgetting the fight was still going. "Heh, shut up! Let's go, Akamaru!" As one, they drilled toward Naruto at blinding speeds.

Naruto's eyes narrowed as they closed in. _'Wait for it… now!'_

"Haa!" The wave of telekinetic energy slamming into the spinning quadrupeds and knocking them away.

They landed with a _thud_, but still on their feet. "Tch, again! **Gatsūga!**"

Naruto raised his hands again and fired. As expected, it didn't go off, but he kept the technique active, intending to wait out its duration. _'If it can't fire off immediately, then I'll keep using it until it's ready!'_

* * *

Hinata held her hands to her chest as she watched. When he'd reached out and aimed at the incoming genin and dog, nothing happened. But she'd already started counting from the last time he'd effectively used it.

'_One… two…'_

She noticed, with relief, that Naruto was constantly pushing chakra to his arms in an attempt to force the technique to work, which meant that he noticed the time limit. Now he was just trying to figure out what it was.

'…_three…'_

But while she was glad he'd figured out by experience what she'd noticed by observation, it was of little comfort as the spinning, slicing drill-like forms of the Inuzuka pair were approaching him faster every millisecond. The natural reaction if the technique didn't work by the time they were a certain distance from him would be to stop trying and dodge. But she knew, probably better than most, how stubborn Naruto could be when learning something new. He wouldn't budge from that spot until he found his new power's limits, and that's what worried her.

She, above even Gin, cared for the Naruto's safety, and his wellbeing. Of course Gin cared, but as a guy, he didn't worry about him like she, a girl, did. It was a kind of care that only a woman could feel towards another. Like how men would spare only a passing question of condition to another guy and women would baby, or at least tend to their injury if hurt. She had a care for Naruto that she was proud to know surpassed that of any other human's on the planet.

'…_four…'_

And for that reason, nothing worried her more than when Naruto did something stupid. Like now. She'd rather he find out some other way to figure it out then by a "trial by fire" way like this. She'd rather he just do what was necessary to win, and then find out through training. It didn't have to happen like this.

But in the end, she would support him regardless; if he was losing, she'd cheer him on. If he was injured she would care for him. If he was struggling, she'd support him. If he was lonely, she'd be there for him. And when (not _if_) he needed love, she'd give all she had to him.

'…_five…'_

And the arena exploded.

* * *

Kiba knew that whatever telekinesis Naruto seemed to have was limited. For one, there was an apparent time limit between uses, since the blonde had been unable to knock them back so soon after using the technique. Thankfully, he didn't need to tell Akamaru what to do; they split up, aiming on getting him from both sides. Even if he managed to hit one of them, the other would take him out from behind. It never occurred to him that Naruto could use both hands to funnel the technique, which he noticed quickly as the blonde's hands tracked them both separately. Realizing that, both dog and master split up to polar opposite sides of the arena, known no one can look both left and right at the same time.

But even so, Kiba didn't want to risk allowing Naruto time to recharge his jutsu, and so rushed in, rapidly spinning in with his special cyclone of shredding death. Even though spinning, he could still see Naruto's eyes. They were hardened. Prepared. He wasn't backing down an inch. He'd take Kiba and Akamaru's technique head-on, regardless of the damage that would be done to him.

The Inuzuka had to admit, the guy had guts. But guts didn't make an Alpha.

He would give no quarter.

"**Gatsūga!**"

They slammed into him full force, the ground literally cracking and breaking beneath their power. Dust and debris flew into the air at impact, clouding the point of contact.

Kurenai sighed in relief, knowing it was over. _'As good as Naruto might be, he can't face Kiba and win.'_

"That's it then…" she said with a smile, proud that her student had been able to beat one of Kakashi's students. She'd heard that this was the first year _ever_ that Kakashi had passed his students and become a sensei. That in and of itself spoke to how good the three children were. And here, Kiba was better.

"No…"

Kurenai turned at the quiet voice of the Hyuuga girl next to her. Her veins were bulging around her eyes, indicating she was using her blood-given Byakugan to see beyond the airborne particles of dirt.

"…It's not." Her face was hard, her eyes narrowed and a very serious expression on. Though one hand was held to her chest, the other was gripping the metal railing tightly, her knuckles turning white from the force. Her chest, though visibly muted due to her thick jacket, expanded and contract deeply, but not excessively.

Kurenai couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. It was made abundantly obvious during the test that she and that Naruto boy were together, and from the way she'd reacted previously when Kiba and Naruto clashed, she would be the type to worry for her boyfriend. The fact that she wasn't now concerned the jounin, even though she assured herself there was no reason to be.

'_Kiba and Akamaru collided from opposite trajectories, and with enough force to shatter several feet of solid concrete. Even if Naruto does have some sort of telekinetic capabilities, it won't be enough to protect him from that level of attack,'_ she thought.

"**SHINRA TENSEI!**"

Suddenly there was a blasting force from the killing floor, and the cloud of dust dispersed violently, spewing two other forms into the walls on either side of the arena, causing them to crack and collapse under the power of the repulsion. The tiles below buckled and broke, cracking and flying in every direction.

Everyone shielded their eyes as the synthetic shrapnel flew around them, thankfully not fast enough to cause any damage.

In the middle of the blast's center stood one lone, bright-haired figure.

Immediately Hinata sighed in relief, knowing Naruto had made it in time. Kurenai conversely looked on in near horror; no doubt the two objects that flew into either wall were her student and his pet. "T-this power…!"

Hayate had flinched comically at the explosion, and blinked stupidly several times before approaching. As he did, the dust had time to settle and things became clearer. On either side of the room was a vertical crater in the wall, one containing a young boy, the other a young dog. Neither was moving. Naruto on the other hand, looked worse for wear; he was a mess. His clothes were shredded beyond recognition, and his skin was slicked red with streams of blood from fresh cuts, courtesy of the two semi-anthropomorphics.

He stood there, unmoving, except for his heavy breathing and shaking outstretched arms. His shirt was no longer even a recognizable piece of clothing. Worse yet, sort of, his pants had been cut vertically along the hem, causing them become looser than they should have been. _'Kid's gonna need a belt,'_ he thought while suppressing a cough.

'_As far as consciousness goes though…'_ He glanced briefly at the two massive depressions in the walls._ '…it's not like I really need to check them.'_

He lifted his hand into the air and brought it down to point at Naruto. "Winner, Uzumaki Naruto."

Immediately Hinata let out a sort of squeal of delight and she leaned forward excitedly, vaulting over the railing and jumping down to the floor. Sasuke smirked and folded his arms over his chest, but otherwise said nothing.

Kakashi eyed Kurenai's stunned expression proudly. "Don't be so surprised. Of all the genin in the village, Naruto is no doubt one of the strongest. Actually that might not be true…" he corrected, drawing Kurenai's gaze away from where the medical teams were now entering the arena.

"…It's possible he's _the_ most powerful genin here."

Though he said it, it certainly didn't look like he was being truthful. What with how battered Naruto looked after fighting Kiba, who was easily of average capability, it looked like Naruto had just gotten by by the skin of his teeth. _'Though if he hadn't been playing with his Rinnegan powers, he would have wiped the floor with Kiba with his normal abilities.'_

It was a little-bragged about fact, but Naruto, with **Shunp****ō**, was undoubtedly the fastest genin in the village, save Hinata and Sasuke who already knew or was beginning to learn the same skill. With that speed and his sword capabilities, Naruto could probably decapitate any of his peers easily. But Kakashi knew he wouldn't use his weapon unless he thought it was necessary.

Kurenai was left with only a half-open mouth, while Shino, the now only remaining conscious genin on his team, didn't make any outward reaction to Kakashi's claim.

Asuma chuckled lightly. "Looks like there are some tough contestants this year." His comment drew a groan from the lethargic boy to his left.

"And guess who gets stuck with fighting them. Me, that's who. What a pain…"

Asuma merely patted his student on the back with a mix of sympathy and encouragement.

Hayate watched over the two wounded boys as the medical team arrived, stretcher in hands. Simultaneously, the Hyuuga girl leapt down and ran to Naruto's side, just in time it seemed too; as soon as she was in spitting distance, he turned to her, lost his balance and fell, luckily into her surprised arms as she supported him for a second, crying out worriedly before setting him down gently.

She looked into his eyes for some sort of sign as to his condition. Obviously he was injured, but she could never tell what was actually life-threatening to him and what wasn't. "What's wrong? Naruto!"

He grunted achingly, his eyes clenched as well as his teeth. After a few seconds, he opened one eye and forced a grin. "I'm… fine. Something… like this... is nothing…"

To her distress, he tried to stand, but failed miserably, collapsing back into her arms. She quickly looked him over. He had numerous cuts across his body, some deep, others superficial. From the deep ones spouted flows of crimson that continued to pour, unlike the shallow ones that were already clotting up. Normally blood loss at this stage wouldn't be enough to incapacitate Naruto, but it was always possible some of his muscles were damaged. However, she realized that this was her chance to be useful to him.

Though she knew he would argue to the contrary, she didn't feel all that helpful in the second exam, having barely been able to keep them safe before they both woke up. Not to mention how pointless her assistance had been against the man who put them in that condition. But now, in _this_ condition, she would be able to repay Naruto, at least a little bit of his deeds done for her.

The medical team looked over and two approached them. With a few glances, they asserted the same likely conclusions that Hinata had come to only moments before. "Excuse us, we'll take you to the infirmary."

Hinata shook her head and stood, lifting Naruto with her and placing his left arm over her shoulders. "That's ok, I've got him."

They looked at her skeptically, clearly tentative about her confidence. "Are you sure? Those wounds need to be treated quickly…"

"She's said she's got me," Naruto cut in between haggard breaths. "And I trust her… Thanks for the thought though… It's… appreciated…"

"…Alright…" said the first medic hesitantly, not entirely able to say he trusted the girl nearly as much as the boy did. "But if anything happens we'll take him immediately anyway."

She nodded, understanding, and half-carried Naruto over to the stairs, up them, and over to their team, laying him down on the concrete balcony against the wall.

Sasuke was smirking, having found the whole thing rather comical. Oh, not the fight, but rather the way Naruto had to hold his pants up even as they sagged lower and lower with each step. Had the circumstances been different, he had no doubt Hinata would have blushed, but equally undoubtedly have taken a sort of humorous pleasure in it, just as he did (though he admitted she probably would have been less open about it than he was).

As soon as the blonde was down, she reached over and grabbed his jacket, which she helped him shrug off. When she'd gotten his torso bare, she turned slightly and reached into her pocket. Rummaging around for a few seconds, she pulled out a small brown cylindrical container. Unscrewing the top, she dipped two fingers in it and carefully began applying it to each and every cut she could see.

Naruto watched curiously as she smeared the cool cream across his skin, wincing every now and then as her fingers glided over his wounds. But to his amazement, he watched as the small cuts almost literally sealed shut before his very eyes.

"Whoa… what is this?" He asked in awe.

Hinata blushed slightly as she continued to apply more of it to his sides, moving away from his chest. "I-it's medicine. I m-made it myself… "

He looked at her in incredulity. "You _made_ this medicine? Since when could you do that?"

She stuttered over her words, though only slightly. "I-I've always been good at working with t-things like herbs and stuff… Plus, I've read a lot of b-books about them and practiced from them."

Naruto blinked several times in succession, but then grinned giddily. "Wow… I didn't know we had a doctor on our team!"

She turned away slightly, bashful at his comment. "Th-that's not-…"

"If that's the case, we don't need to worry about being hurt on our missions anymore," Sasuke chimed in. "You can just patch us up if we're injured."

"B-but I'm n-not-… I'm only-"

"The best girlfriend in the world, ya know?" Naruto exclaimed, cutting her off with a giant grin on his face.

Whatever she was trying to say was forgotten as she blushed from his praise. She could try to argue her not being well versed in medical doctrine, but something like that… It wasn't like she could deny it; it was his opinion after all. Unable to argue the point she nervously brushed one of her bangs to the side. "…I-if you say so…"

Naruto chuckled as she went back to work on his cuts. "Oh, I do. I _do_." Whether it was from a genuine desire to compliment her with the truth, or his mischievous nature coming back out to the forefront of his personality, he admittedly loved making her blush. There was just something about the way she nervously shifted… the way she would timidly look away… the way she smiled acceptingly at his comments…. It made for a great source of euphoria for him.

Hinata retracted her hands from his body, breaking him from his thoughts. "That should do it for now…" she said as her eyes wandered his freshly treated injuries carefully. "The cream should keep them from getting infected, and should help your platelets seal the wounds, but don't try to move too much until we leave, ok?" Her tone had gone back to her _business-as-usual_ mode and her eyes told him it was less of a question and more of a statement.

He nodded lightly. "Sure thing, Hina-chan!"

Rangiku watched with interest as the three genin, and the two courtesans in particular, interacted with each other. In a way, it was sort of a refreshing return to normalcy for her. Back in Soul Society, there were moments like this all the time between the more friendly and open Shinigami of the Gotei Thirteen, and even in Seireitei and Rukongai. After having studied up on the history of this new world she found herself in, she'd expected it to be a dark and depressing land of suffering and conflict. She was glad to see the reality was so much different than what she'd expected. Well, they were only young boys and girls fighting in a potential lethal ranking exam, which she still wasn't comfortable with, but she'd learn to deal.

Gin turned from the three with a smile, only to realize with a start that the name generator had begun _and _stopped while they'd been talking. "Uh oh, time's up."

The three genin looked up at him at once, and then to where his gaze was resting. Hinata felt her heart skip a beat.

HYUUGA NEJI vs. HYUUGA HINATA.

"Well, this will be interesting," came Sasuke's amused voice as he smirked approvingly at the matchup.

Naruto likewise smiled. "Heh, guess Hina-chan gets the pleasure of beating his ass. Kind of a buzz-kill, but oh well."

Hinata though, for her part, couldn't help but feel a tad nervous about this. _'If it were anyone else…'_ she thought hesitantly. But she didn't have time to dwell on it as the proctor called for the two contestants to come down and she felt a small nudge from Kakashi behind her.

"Better get going," he said with a positive inflection in his tone. She nodded and stood, stepping over to the railing and leaning against it. Swinging her legs over it, she allowed herself to fall down to the concrete floor below.

She landed quietly, though she was not deaf to the sound of her cousin landing on the floor as well. She could also feel his eyes on her, but she did her best to ignore it. She stepped up to the center of the arena.

Hayate looked between the two of them and announced the start.

To the surprise of the majority of onlookers, they didn't immediately rush at each other, though Hinata did get into a sort of ready-stance. Neji for his part only cocked his head at her curiously. They soon learned why.

"You're seriously going to fight me?" he asked as if he genuinely hadn't expected it.

Hinata did her best to remain undeterred. "Of course. Even if we're related, if we have to fight each other to continue on, then so be it."

"That's not what I mean," Neji said, his gaze taking on a more distasteful look and catching her of guard. He didn't wait for a response before he continued. "For as long as you've lived, you've been weak. Even you have to admit that much. From ages three to six, you we noticeably weaker than even the most average of Hyuuga students. The clan passed it off as roughness that would pass with time. However, as age nine rolled by, they realized it wasn't just roughness, but weakness."

Hinata did her best to suppress a flinch, but she wasn't sure how well she managed to do so.

"Frail determination, low motivation, poor skills, it was obvious early on you would be a less than stellar Hyuuga. No matter how they looked at it, they couldn't see any way for you to improve. And such is the limit of yourself." He crossed his arms in front of him. "That's why I'm asking; here, now… you, who were destined to be weak and useless, are going to fight _me?_"

Hinata could feel the biting edge in his tone; the underlying animosity he was so coolly holding in check… for the moment.

"Yes. That's the case."

For a second, she could almost see a smirk on his lips. But whatever she thought she'd seen disappeared immediately after. He was silent for several seconds before speaking again. "I will say this only once. Give up. You're not capable of beating me."

Hinata's eyes narrowed at his words; for the first time in a long time, she felt offended by them. She'd heard that kind of rhetoric many times before by her family. However, she'd always agreed with them, knowing that she _was_ weak. But now, instead of the sorrowful inability to deny them, she felt a tightness in her gut, and a burning sensation consume her stomach. To say that she was still weak would be to say that the training she'd so graciously received from both Naruto and his father was for nothing.

She would not do that. They were strong, and so was she.

Her body stiffened.

In the balconies, Naruto felt a smug smile creep across his face as he saw her expression. "I wish it could have been me…" he said as if to himself.

Kakashi caught it and cocked his head at the genin. "Hm? What's that?"

Naruto let the smirk split his mouth in a smile. "… to kick that kid's ass."

"Forgive me, Neji-nii-san," Hinata spoke up. "…but I can't back down after coming so far."

The Hyuuga prodigy looked at her carefully for several seconds before huffing and uncrossing his arms. "Fine then. Don't regret what happens next."

Next between them, Kankuro and Temari both felt Gaara fidget ever so slightly. "Enough talking. Get on with it." Though his words were not spoken loud enough for those below to hear, they were unmistakably words of impatience, and Gaara and impatience did not mix.

Thankfully though, his vibes must have been felt by both Hyuuga below, as they both immediately got into their fighting stances; right hands pulled back to their sides, left palms extended toward their opponent. Neither moved for several seconds, both carefully observing each other. But as if an inaudible whistle had been blown, Neji charged, throwing a flurry of strikes at Hinata, who thankfully managed to defend against them. Likewise, she threw her palms forward to try and break Neji's guard, only for him to retreat back a step to dodge

Kankuro reached up to scratch the side of his head. "The hell. They're not even really fighting each other."

"There's got to some sort of secret to their style…" Temari responded, narrowing her eyes as she tried to discern it.

On the other side of the room, Lee's fists were clenched. Watching two practitioners of a style that surpassed even his own duke it out in front of him… It made him slightly jealous. He'd always considered Neji his rival, and being on the same team, it was easy for him to learn about the Hyuuga boy. One of the first things he learned was that Neji was unbeatable in close quarters combat.

Hinata slid back a step and knocked her cousin's strike up and away, retaliating with an identical strike. She'd never had to fight Neji before, and she was beginning to realize why. Neji was strong. Of all the Hyuuga, he was probably the strongest of her generation. His unarmed taijutsu was nearly as good as Sasuke's, and she knew for a fact that the Uchiha's skill was beyond even Naruto's. Naruto was flatly equal with Sasuke when he used his sword, and didn't use his Shinigami powers. But on fair ground, Sasuke won against the blonde. And Neji was just as good as his Uchiha counterpart.

And she'd never won a fight against Sasuke. By any sane person's logic, that meant she would stand no chance of beating her cousin. But if there was one thing she'd learned from being on team seven, it was that logic meant _nothing _to them. Regardless of the odds, or of her past with the Hyuuga clan, she would put that away and give her all to winning.

Her strike was slapped away, and then her next. Spinning around her arm, Neji advanced on her, driving her back. She grit her teeth as she knocked his attack away, feeling the vague sensation of chakra grazing by her skin.

Neji's face was emotionless. A perfect stone-expression of apathy. But his eyes hid a dangerous flame just waiting to escape. Every time he struck, she could see the flame burn brighter. _'He wants to hurt me… He wants to make me suffer…'_ she realized. It wasn't anything she wasn't used to. It was a common thing in her family; to be hurt. At least, it was for her. Punishment for failure was harsh, and she'd failed enough to learn that lesson very intimately. However, if there was one thing she could claim to have gained from it, it would be an enhanced resistance the stomach-turning agony of Jyuuken.

It was probably why she couldn't feel his strikes against her when she blocked, having no way to properly deflect them. She felt her breath beginning to catch up to her, and her lungs found it increasingly difficult to keep up with her demand for air. But likewise, Neji wasn't fairing too well better. But his eyes were narrowed and focused; he wasn't backing down no matter what.

And neither would she. '_Sasuke won…'_ She thought back to how Sasuke had decimated his opponent with only two strikes. '_Naruto won…'_ The image of Naruto's devastating attack that left Kiba and his canine companion completely out cold passed behind her eyes.

'_I can't be the only one who loses…!'_ She felt a growl emanate unconsciously from her throat. With a surge of excitement, she watched as Neji's slipped, even though ever so slightly, and immediately made for it. Suddenly Neji was hit square in the chest. Then a second time, and then a third. Neji's defense completely collapsed all of a sudden! She pressed her advantage, laying into him with everything she had. "Haaaaahhhh!" she cried out as she remained relentless in her assault.

'_I'm doing it!'_ she thought with glee. _'I can win!'_

Neji stumbled back, with a grunt, and her sharp eyes spotted his supporting foot slide just a _little_ too far, and his arms shifted ever so slightly to compensate. _'This is it!'_ She drew back her right arm and thrust it forward, intent on ending the battle with one final blow.

But as soon as her arm was fully extended, her opponent immediately grabbed it. The next thing she knew, the world had inverted and she was on the ground, a sharp pain running through her back and abdomen. She couldn't stop a yelp from escaping her lips as she felt her gripped arm surge with agonizing pain. When she opened her eyes again, having shut them as a natural reaction to her pain, she could only see the cold, calculating eyes of her cousin, his Byakugan staring down at her uncaringly. It was then she realized her mistake.

He'd intentionally left himself open for her to attack, only to turn around and counter. To her surprise, she felt his grip on her pained arm release, and he stepped back, as if waiting to see if she would get up.

Though throbbing, she brought her injured arm close to her body as she lifted her self from the ground, her Byakugan likewise reactivating. _'If he's going to play like that…'_ But as she stood, her eyes now registering both her, and his own damage, she realized something was not quite right. Not right at all.

"Wha…?" None of his innards were damaged. The worst his skin showed were mere impact bruises. There was nothing inside him that gave hint that she'd even _tried_ to use Jyuuken on him. However, _she_ showed numerous injuries in her arms, especially the one he'd just let go of. Looking down at herself, she hesitantly lifted the sleeve from her wrist. What she saw made her blood run cold. "I-Impossible…"

"It seems you've finally noticed."

"M-my tenketsu… How…?"

"Simple. I've been able to see each and every chakra point from the very beginning." He glowered down his nose at her. "Do you understand now? From the beginning, you were at a disadvantage. Fighting an opponent you know is stronger than you is one thing, but fighting an opponent you _don't _know is stronger than you, and still believing you can win, is the very definition of stupidity."

His eyes, with his Byakugan active, looked cruel and vengeful. "Assuming you know your enemy is the greatest mistake a ninja can make in their career."

Hearing his disdainful words, she felt a lump form in her throat, though she did her best to will it away.

"I said it before didn't I? _You. Are. Weak._ THe more you fight, the more you only prove my point better. Not only are you weak in ability, but also mentally. From the beginning your strikes have been ineffective and your head on strategy shamefully transparent." He raised his hand to point at her. "Now with your right arm unable to use chakra, what can you hope to do?"

His eyes narrowed. "Forfeit."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes as well, not at all liking the tone with which he spoke to her. A loud metallic clang from beside him showed that Naruto felt similar; his grip had shattered the railing.

'_Come on Hinata… come on…!'_

Hinata fought back tears; from anyone else, the insults would have been ignorable. But from him… they'd hit straight home. He probably would have said something about keeping her emotions in check, if he though he needed to. But he knew she knew that already, and that was even worse; he knew he was _right_.

She didn't want to forfeit; most assuredly not, but with just one effective arm, how could she hope to fight him? He would force hand-to-hand combat, and she'd barely been able to keep up with him before_._ What more could she do with both her defense _and_ offence halved?

'…_What would Naruto do?'_ she thought, imagining what it would be like if he were in her psotion. What she saw was an image of Naruto floating in her mind, middle finger raised and a confident grin on his face.

Even in her situation, she couldn't help but feel a chuckle escape her lips. Of course that would be what he would do; fuck the world and prove them wrong, smile in the face of their victory, and make them regret winning.

She felt a small grin creep across her face. '_Fuck the world, huh…?'_

Neji couldn't miss it. "What's so funny?"

Hinata shook with an involuntary laugh before composing herself and looking him in the eye. "Heh… heheh… You… you might be right… But even if I'm going to lose, I'm not going to make it easy for you to beat me!"

She raised her hands up, her palms facing her Hyuuga relative.

Neji's eyes narrowed. "What exactly do you intend to do? Your chakra is sealed."

Hinata took a deep, calming breath as she blinked away the remnants of unshed tears in her eyes. "**Hado no Sanj****ū****ichi…**"

Neji's eyebrow twitched. "...Nani?"

Her eyes opened, and a small sphere of crimson energy formed between her palms. "**Shakkahō!**"

With a slight shock of energy, the ball shot from her hands, blasting toward Neji's surprised face. The other side of the arena exploded in a shower of debris. Neji was now bent over backwards, having done so to avoid the attack. He quickly back-flipped and stood ready again.

Hinata was not dismayed. "HAAA!" Another sphere formed and fired.

Dodged.

And another.

She was now rapidly forming the balls of spiritual energy as fast as possible, and with each narrow miss, her attacks kept getting closer. If it was any consolation, Neji's shocked and uncomprehending face was enough to satisfy her, even if she were to lose. Small burns and singes were beginning to appear on Neji's clothes and skin as he narrowly missed being hit by the dangerous singularities of light. But at last, his efforts failed him and one of the spheres nailed him in the chest, followed closely by two more. Their explosions resounded loudly, and the back of the area was decimated from each dodged attack having hitting it instead.

The sand team, along with Asuma's team looked very uncertain about the structural integrity of the balcony they shared.

The cloud of smoke that now obscured Neji's immobile form boiled erratically, attempting to follow common physics and disperse; Hinata lowered her hands, letting out a breath of relief. Neji was out for count, and even if he somehow managed to stand up after that, he likely wouldn't be able to fight back, even with her having on one Jyuuken capable limb.

She kept her eyes on the dispersing smoke, waiting to see Neji's unconscious or struggling form. For that reason, she was surprised when she heard her name shouted from behind her. It was Naruto's voice, and it sounded frantic. She turned, only to meet the business end of a chakra-infused palm straight to her face. She had no words that could properly describe the biting pain she felt racket around in her skull. One second she'd blinked, the next she was on the ground, none of her senses working as they should.

Slowly, she managed to lift her head, though the effort it took to do so was incredible. What she saw was an injured, but very much able Neji, arm extended and a cold, ruthless face adorned. She felt incredulity and frustration build up inside her. "…H-how…?"

His white eyes stared her down. "Substitution. Such a basic technique, and you fell for it." He lowered his arm. "I don't what kind of technique that was, but it makes no difference in the outcome of this battle. I've knocked out your primary nervous system cortex. Naturally without it, the neurons from your brain won't reach their destination. If I chose to, I could end this fight without even needing to blink, and you'd be helpless to stop me."

He stepped forward, closing the distance between them, his arms crossing over his singed jacket. "I'm doing you a favor by allowing you to surrender. Either way the match is over. It's just a matter of whether I'll end it, or you."

Hinata gritted her teeth and struggled to rise, but her arms gave out from underneath her and she fell back onto her back, but she didn't stop trying. "T-this won't… I won't…!"

Neji's eyes widened as she shakily got back to her feet, rigidly trying to maintain her balance. "You still intend to fight? This is the epitome of futility. If I even breathe on you, you'll fall over. I can tell your body isn't responding, and even if it was, you have only one arm left to fight me; you could barely compete with both of them. And mark my words, I won't fall for that cheap jutsu again."

Hinata felt herself swim slightly as she shook her head to clear it. As much as she wanted to continue on and win, she couldn't shake the sinking feeling that he was right. It was a losing battle no matter how _anyone_ looked at it. She knew that it would end in a loss whether she decided to try and fight more or to give up. But giving up… it left a bitter taste in her mouth.

From her perspective, Neji's back was toward the side of the room her team was on, so she shifted her gaze from him up towards them. Sasuke was looking down disdainfully at them both, though she supposed his look was primarily directed at her cousin. Kakashi and Gin looked, actually rather passive. Gin's grin seemed to have faltered, but he wasn't scowling. And Kakashi… it was never easy to read him. But as she looked to Naruto, she could clearly see the boiling rage inside him waiting just below the surface to break free and unleash its hellish fury at her cousin. But it was the face he was making that made her spine shiver.

She didn't have words to describe it… it was like he was trying to inject his desire to win into her by sheer will alone, and she had to admit, when she looked into his ringed eyes, she felt as if she were suddenly encompassed by overflowing power. And in that brief instance, she could understand what he was thinking.

She allowed herself a smile.

'_He doesn't want me to give up, but he also knows that that will only get me hurt. He wants me to win, but also to save myself the pain,'_ she realized. He would never want her to get hurt, naturally. But as she looked down at her opponent, she knew that giving up was out of the question. _'Sorry Naruto-kun, but I refuse to disappoint you!'_

She hadn't even realized she said it, but a small, seemingly insignificant word escaped her lips.

Neji blinked at it. "What?"

"Order…" she said again, allowing her thoughts and feelings consume her. She looked up, her eyes burning and voice filled with a fiery passion. "Naruto is stronger than either of us. He's the one who'll bring order to the world; I refuse to believe anything else! If he's really the god who will bring order to the world, then I have to be strong enough to be his angel!" She planted her feet firmly on the floor, her body welling with strength she didn't know she had. "I refuse to back down from anyone! Not when _he's_ watching!"

Neji looked as if he were about to puke. "Is that so? I see. I understand now… You know you're weak, so you place your confidence in someone else; it's all you _can _do." He stared down his nose at her, a shadow crossing over his eyes.

"I'll say this once Hinata-_sama_…" He spat her name out. "…Fate cannot be fought."

To his surprise, Hinata nodded. "I know that, very well. But I don't need to fight fate when I know someone who makes his own!" She spared a glance up at her blonde love. _'Sorry Naruto-kun, but, if you'll allow it…'_ she ran forward to attack. _'…I'm going to borrow some of your future!'_

Neji growled as he retaliated, easily overwhelming her with blocks and parries. But for as much as he was effectively defending against her, he couldn't gain any momentum to attack. From the weight of her strikes, he knew that even if she hit him, he wouldn't be hurt in the slightest.

But Hinata knew that.

His eyes widened when another of those pink sphere appeared in her cocked palm. His eyes widened as she slammed if forward.

Another explosion erupted, but the sounds of battle didn't cease. Neji leapt out of the smoke, Hinata hot on his tail. He'd apparently mitigated most of the damage, aside for some minor burn marks on his arms. Eyes cold and calculating, he reached behind him and pulled out a kunai and made to throw it, but due to Hinata's aggressiveness, his throw was cut off, and it went flying high into the air. Grunting in frustration, he grabbed one of her outstretched arms and spun her around, throwing her back.

With her balance briefly off, she fought to find her feet when she spied the other Hyuuga throwing another kunai. However, with her Byakugan, she easily saw the explosive tag wrapped around the handle. _'I'll just dodge it!'_

He loosed it and she watched it fly toward her, but even as she was leaning aside to dodge, she noticed all too late the other kunai he threw. It was falling back down to the floor, but her sharp eyes noticed that it would never actually hit it. It likely was never meant to.

It landed, precisely, on the incoming explosive knife. The collision set off the parchment, not three feet from her.

She felt a nauseous wave of heat, a burning feeling in her hands and arms, and then nothing.

* * *

The explosion ripped through the arena. Even Hayate had to shield his face. _'That… that was no ordinary paper bomb… that was a high-grade explosive…!'_

Two forms flew from the smoke, one landing on its feet, the other tumbling across the floor lifelessly. Neji took a deep breath as he felt the backlashing heat from his own attack sting his skin. Ignoring it, he looked over to where his cousin had come to a halt. He stared at her unmoving body for a few seconds before huffing and looking away dismissively. "I guess I win then, Hinata-sama."

He began walking away before the proctor even had time to come across the floor to check. But his movements stopped the instant he heard coughing.

He slowly turned around, a burning hatred suddenly welling up inside of his gut. "You…!"

Hinata flailed helplessly as she tried to stand again, blood dripping from a series of scrapes and cuts on her forehead and arms, both of which were burnt badly. But as she raised her head to bring her eyes to bear on him, he felt as if he'd suddenly been cheated. "Still…? Do you still intend to continue? This battle's over! You've lost!"

Hayate's eyes were wide as he watched the battered girl attempt to stand, and thought the same thought every jonin had on their mind. _'This girl… What incredible will!'_

"Oi, oi… isn't this a bit much?" Asuma said as he tucked his cigarette into the corner of his mouth.

Hinata tried to stand, but her legs failed her, and she looked down to see them shrouded in smoke, and she realized half of her pants had been blown off when she'd reflexively tried to defend herself from the explosion. Everything from her mid-thighs down had been shredded. All she could see was charred, torn flesh. No wonder she couldn't stand. But she couldn't feel any pain, and was both thankful and fearful for it, and managed to at least pull her legs underneath her. But Neji's words did not affect her.

"No… I haven't…" she said between labored breaths. She wanted to say more, but she knew that Neji would never understand it if she did. She _hadn't_ lost. She might not have won, but she hadn't lost. She was much more than just herself: she was Sasuke, she was Naruto. She had their will, and they had hers. They were more than just a team; they were a single entity. That was something that was likely beyond the scope of her cousin's understanding. But even for as much as he'd likely tried to kill her just then, she harbored no ill will toward him. He was strong, and she'd known the battle would be hard fought.

But Neji didn't seem to reciprocate her good nature. All that he could think of were her words rattling around in his brain. How couldn't she have lost? It was his victory! She couldn't even stand, and she says she hasn't lost? _'That… damn… main family…!'_ He bared his teeth at her and roared. "You little… I'll make you wish you were never born!"

Hayate's eyes widened as he realized what was happening. _'That guy…! He's going to kill her!'_

He wasn't alone; every jounin saw it. But none of them even made it half way to intercept him. They'd been beat to it.

Neji eyes widened as Hinata, who he was aiming at, was replaced by the visage of another. And just as soon after, he felt his body come to an abrupt halt.

Naruto's half naked form now stood, firm and fearlessly between his love and her attacker. In an instant, an immense pressure saturated the entirety of the massive room, his rage now having reached critical mass.

Neji couldn't compose himself to suppress his surprise as Naruto's eyes now bore into _him_; those eyes, glowing with energy and rippling with rage, narrowed dangerously at him. In an instant, he felt an immense feeling of smallness come over him, and he felt an immediate desire to shrink back and cower; to go home and lock his doors… to _run_. The incredible authority of the boy in front of him made his natural instincts go insane with submission. But it was only for a moment, for in the next, he growled as he tried to push against the invisible bindings holding him still. But just as soon as he thought he might break through, the world blurred around him for only a second before a skull-cracking pain ran through his body.

To everyone else, it looked as if Neji might actually attack Naruto instead, but then he was repelled with such force that he was sent crashing into the wall, the concrete shattering beneath the force. The resounding power of the repulsion blasted across the arena, resonating from the epicenter of the chamber. The unprepared jounin and their genin students all recoiled in shock.

But that wasn't it. More and more pressure continued to pour out of the blonde, and Neji continued to sink further into the stone wall. When at last it felt like the whole building might explode from the pressure, it vanished.

The entire time, Naruto hadn't moved.

There was silence for some time after the heaviness disappeared, and many of the genin, and even some jounin were all wondering similar thoughts. Across the arena, a particular Sand ninja felt his body shake...

At last, Naruto spoke.

"I understand, Hinata…"

However, she was unconscious. She'd been so weakened that the very pressure of Naruto near her, had been enough to knock her out. But he didn't stop. "You believe that i'm the god of the world, so strongly that you'd continue fighting, that you'd ignore the fight of your skin and nerves burning…" He spoke mostly to himself, but as he continued, it was clear he was addressing every single spectator.

"Fine then. I will be the god of the world you desire. A perfect, peaceful world!" He looked all around him. "With these eyes, I'll make a world you can live in without fear or sadness!" A groaning from behind him alerted him to Neji's being conscious again.

"And to you, Hyuuga, I have one warning…" He paused for emphasis. "…Hinata is far too kind to fight her family, as reviled by them as she is. However, if you ever raise a hand against her again, regardless of how much she might beg me not to, I will _end _you."

Neji grimaced as he looked up at the boy before him, feeling a sudden bravado come over him. He half chuckled, half coughed at him. "If you think you're strong because you caught an injured opponent off guard, you're sadly mistaken. My eyes see everything, Uzumaki Naruto…" he grunted as he picked himself up, swaying slightly and limping a bit as he stepped forward out of the ruble behind him.

"…Those eyes are nothing special. Heaven wouldn't give such a legendary gift to a foolish nobody. No, my Byakugan can see through your façade!"

Naruto's eyes narrowed. "Be careful, Hyuuga Neji. I'm not as forgiving as she is."

Silenced reigned for several seconds as both pairs of duojutsu stared at each other, until at last the proctor's voice broke it.

"Winner, Hyuuga Neji."

Neji huffed and turned away dismissively. He won, and that was all that mattered. But if felt exceedingly hollow.

Naruto turned and bent down, picking up the girl on the ground carefully, noting her burns. As soon as she was safely in his grasp, the medical team came out to fetch her. Naruto, for fear of hurting her, didn't want to transfer her to the stretcher. "I'll carry her to the medical area, just show me the way."

The medics looked at him concernedly but realized he wasn't taking no for an answer. Accepting the fact, they nodded and guided him to the infirmary keeping their eyes on the girl in his arms and making diagnostics based on what they saw and what Naruto accounted for. The trip didn't take long and they led him to a decently sized room full of medical equipment and beds.

"Here, set her down here," one medic directed, and Naruto carefully did so. Several more came over and immediately began speaking in that babbling medical jargon that Naruto would never understand. He simply stepped back and allowed them to do their jobs. He ignored their tearing her already pitiful clothes off and tried to focus on any keywords they said. He wasn't a doctor, but he knew what words sounded bad.

So intent was he on watching and listening that he jumped mile high when a hand rested on his shoulder. "She'll be alright."

Naruto whirled and saw, to his joy, the silver haired boy who'd taken the sane rode. "Kabuto! What are you doing here?"

The young man pointed to his left ear that was now completely covered with bandages. "I had to get checked out. They said my hearing will return in time and I'll make a full recovery, which is good. I guess my teammates weren't chunin quality though; saw them wheeled in here earlier."

Naruto laughed lightly. "Well, one of 'em did end up against Sasuke. Nothing to be surprised about."

Kabuto smiled light heartedly. "Well, Sasuke-san is pretty talented I guess." He turned his head to look over Naruto's shoulder at the mass of doctors working. "I suppose Hinata-san wasn't so lucky…" he said sympathetically.

Naruto's smile dimmed and he nodded. "Got hurt pretty bad…"

Kabuto, noticing his friend's face, sighed and slapped him on the back. "Don't worry about it. I'm sure she'll be fine." Even as he said it, the medical team suddenly went into a frenzy and started yelling out orders and observations. The term "cardiac arrest" was said twice. Even Naruto knew what that was.

Immediately he rushed forward to see what was going on, already demanding such verbally. He was surprised when he felt a pair of strong hands restrain him. Turning he saw Kabuto. "Hey, let me go!"

"Don't. You'll just get in their way. Let them do their job."

Naruto offered no more resistance, but Kabuto kept his hold on him anyway. They both watched on helplessly as the team worked to resuscitate her. Thankfully, it didn't take long.

When at last the medics seemed to calm down, Naruto realized they'd managed to take care of it. Kabuto released him as the senior doctor advised taking her to the hospital for proper care, seeing as the current medical facility was inadequate. They quickly hooked her up to some portable monitoring equipment and got her on the stretcher. After strapping her down for the journey, they rushed out. Those who stayed behind eyed the blonde for a second before approaching.

"Are you her teammate?" one asked.

He nodded, "Yeah I am."

The man cleared his throat, nodding. "She had a brief bout with a heart attack, and her body's pretty burnt. Likely she'll have some scarring, but from what we've seen so far she should survive. When the preliminary matches are over she'll be at the hospital. Though, you probably won't be able to visit her right away."

Naruto nodded reluctantly.

"Do you have any injuries we can help with?"

He shook his head absently and the man took the cue and let him be. Kabuto sighed and patted the blonde's shoulder sympathetically. "You'd better get back up there. You don't want to miss the end of the preliminaries."

Naruto nodded numbly, and Kabuto sighed again, more exasperatedly this time. "Tell you what; I'll head over to the hospital and make sure she's ok. That sound good?"

Naruto blinked surprised at him. "Really?"

The other genin shrugged. "My dad's the chief medical doctor; I'll pull some strings, get her some good care."

Naruto blinked and looked away thankfully. "You'd do that? I… thanks... I really appreciate it."

Kabuto smiled kindly and gave him a slight push. "My pleasure. Now get going or you'll miss the end. I'll take care of things over here."

Naruto smiled and nodded before rushing off back to the main arena. Before rounding the corner though, he looked back and stared at his senior seriously. "Promise you'll take care of her?"

The silver haired teen nodded confidently. "Absolutely."

Naruto gave a relieved look and nodded back to him before disappearing. Kabuto shook his head at the boy as he vanished. "Geez… what am I going to do with you guys…?" he asked rhetorically to no one in particular.

'_Well, I guess since I did promise, I'd better keep it. Besides, if there's one thing I can't stand, it's shoddy work.'_ He grimaced that the painfully obvious inexperience probably half of the medical staff there displayed. _'Probably some sort of "live-fire" testing for the newbies. Hardly what I'd expect from professionals.'_

He smiled darkly as he already felt his left ear heal itself. _'Guess I gotta go show them what a pro is _really_ like.'_

He stepped out, following the path he knew the medical team had taken to transport the Hyuuga girl to the hospital, the white wraps falling to the floor from his head. Slow healing had always been a pet peeve of his…

* * *

When Naruto returned, the remaining three matches had already been completed. Shikamaru and Dosu had wrapped up their matches quickly, and Lee and Gaara, that scary kid from the Sand team, had put on quite the show, adding several more craters to the room in the process. He passed by the medical team carrying Lee just as he walked in. When all the contestants who passed the preliminary had been called down and asked to take a number out of a box, Naruto already had a good idea what was going to happen. His number had been "one." Not a bad number to have, he supposed. When everyone else had gotten their number, the proctor for the first exam wrote them down on a clipboard and then showed them the brackets for the tournament-style third exam.

But one particular matchup caught his eyes. The first match was him. Him versus Hyuuga Neji.

He needed to start thanking God more.

His eyes never left Neji during the rest of the meeting, and he couldn't help a smile from appearing on his face as he thought of the multiple ways he'd wipe the floor with the Hyuuga. The explanatory conversation that was going on in the background was a simple buzz to his ears. One month to train, take what they learned about their opponents from the first two exams, blah, blah, blah.

His focus was solely on Neji. He could easily beat him, but at the same time, he knew he couldn't rely so heavily on his Shinra Tensei, which was the only real Rinnegan ability he understood. He'd need to spend the month and figure out its other capabilities. Neji would no doubt try to counter him by training as well too…

By the time he came out of his musings, the Hokage had just dismissed them. Oh well, he'd ask Sasuke about any important things he might have missed later.

"So how's Hinata?"

He blinked as he realized he was being talked to by that very person. "She had a small heart attack and some bad burns, but they said she'll be fine. Plus Kabuto said he'd look after her."

Sasuke furrowed his eyebrows. "That guy? Isn't he the son of one of the top doctors at the hospital?"

Naruto shrugged. "More or less."

Sasuke nodded and gave his teammate a sidelong glance. "So what are you going to do for the month?"

Naruto gave an honest shrug. "I dunno. I guess try and figure my powers out, but I'm not exactly sure how I'll go about doing it…"

"I think I can help you there."

Both genin turned to see the Hokage shuffle over to them both. "Hokage-jiji?"

The old man smiled at them. "Naruto, I need to speak with you in private. Sasuke, you're welcome to join us if you want."

The Uchiha politely stepped back. "No thanks. I'm gonna go see if I can get a sitrep on Hinata, and then head on home. I need a shower."

Hiruzen nodded and Sasuke left. Around them, the various remaining members of the competing teams were gathering with their comrades and leaving. The few who weren't were pretty much just him, Kakashi, Gin and Rangiku-san.

"Follow me Naruto. Don't worry, we won't be long."

Naruto didn't really have any choice but to follow.

It wouldn't be for several weeks that he'd think back on this moment and staunchly refuse to have any part of it.

* * *

**A/N: And there's chapter fourteen! I tried to get Rangiku in there somehow, but again, it's so hard to give screen-time when she doesn't have any particular purpose. Oh, she will in the third exam, don't you worry about that, but for this one, it was kind of forced. Also, to those who say "Wow, you buffed Neji up," yes I did. In the canon, he was playing with Hinata during their fight, so I thought it appropriate that he actually try here. Also, you'll be pleased to know that Hinata wasn't so badly hurt as she was in canon. Well, I guess she kind of was, but in a different way… But trust me, it's necessary for what I'm going to do with… certain characters… *hint hint.***

**Also, do you have any idea how hard it is to remake scenes that not only are boring and repetitive, but also add new content to without going completely off canon? Huh, do you? No you don't. BUT! I finally got it done, so you can't complain. **

**That said, thanks for reading, leave a review, and I'll see you next time! ^_^**


	15. Chapter 15: No Competition

**A/N: Dear Lord, how long's it been? A month? Two months? FOUR? **

…

…**Would "oopsie" be an acceptable apology? **

**No in all honesty, classes have been really hard for me lately, especially since summer classes are condensed, which means the same twelve week content squeezed into eight. Yeah, it's not easy. Regardless, I've been pushing myself to finish this chapter, just for you guys. Yeah I love you **_**that**_** much!**

**On another note, FANFICTION! WHY YOU HIGH ON ACID? **

**I mean seriously, WTF? I you don't know by now you clearly must be living under a rock, but FanFiction has been deleting any story with MA rated content in it. This includes explicit sexual scenes, heavy gore and violence and such. The problem is that they're doing it without warning, removing these stories and banning the accounts associated with them. SERIOUSLY? Some of those people don't have backups on their computers you dumb fucks! How the hell are they supposed to recover their junk? THEY CAN'T! And that's not even the **_**biggest**_** travesty! The worst part is that these supposed "MA rated fics" aren't always that bad, and that the MA rating is actually very subjective and vague. **

**And what do I have to say about this? Well it's simple. As you might have noticed, FanFiction's going social, what with you now being able to sign in with facebook and share stories. This massive clearing, to which I will now refer to as the Wipe, is in order to "clean house" so to speak, to make their site look nice to outsiders. The problem? Lemon fics, or fics that feature lemons are essentially a FEATURE of this site. I mean, sure the "no MA material" rule has been around for nearly a decade, but it's never been enforced, at least to this degree. By this point, people simply accepted that it was part of the site's "charm." I certainly did, and still do! **

"**What exactly are you saying Kon?" I'm saying "Fuck you FF, I don't give a shit." In other words, I'm not removing a damn thing, regardless of content. That means you won't see me scramble to clean up my fics or nothing. And I also refuse to change what I have planned in this and other fics just to appease their idiotic crusade against "porn." They're just gonna have to deal with it.**

**Regardless, I'm not going to just sit here and wait to be banned either; I've created a account and am in the process of uploading my stories there as well. I'm only staying here because it's convenient that all my following is hooked up to this site's notification system. I'm planning on milking FF for all it's worth before my unannounced ban. That said, go over to YFF and subscribe to me there so you won't miss anything should this account go forced into belly-up mode.**

**Same name on YFF as here.**

**Onto more announcements; guess what guys? Somebody was cool and suggested my story to be on **Brown Phantom's **"Best Naruto Story On This Site" poll! Hearts to you whoever did that! But sadly, I don't know how many have voted for me, so right now (before you forget) go to **Brown Phantom's** profile and vote! Don't worry, you can vote for multiple fics if there are more that you like.**

**Next I suppose I should explain why I haven't updated in a while. **

**School. **

'**Nough said.**

**So Air Gear is over, and I am sad panda. One of the most underrated manga in the world and it's over without even a decent second season to it. Sure the OVAs are pretty good, but they still don't do it justice I think…**

**Still posting various vids on my YouTube Channel. Check my profile for the link (you have to C/P it since hyperlink text is disabled now). Be sure to subscribe, and tell me what you want to see more of!**

**Also, I got into the End of Nations Beta, and I'm also in the Alpha. I AM recording matches so that I'll have things to put up once the NDA is lifted, so look forward to that, whenever that is. If you happen to get into the beta, I'll likely be on Shard 3 (sometimes called Proving Grounds 3) with MaliciousRean, Napalm, Ferox, CommanderWolfy and others! Oh and btw, I was top five globally. I WAS number two by Napalm kicked me out of there… *glares.* That bastard didn't sleep.**

**Also, something's up with FF because my computer has the darndest time connecting to the site, and literally refuses to connect to the login screen, so I have to upload from a different computer -_- I hate you FF. I hate you sooo much.**

**On a lighter note, acknowledgment time! :D My thanks and appreciation go to **Dethlok91** (even though he hates NaruHina… the heathen), **NorthSouthGorem, LadyOfTheAnimals, pyromania101, cmcwiki, Deadzepplin, OBSERVER01, Hee-Ho Master, Impstar, CracktheSkye, Chewie Cookies, Quick-n-Popular, Orchamus, Leaf Ranger, Ookami88, Fangking2, Hypothetical Spiritual Entity, Vallavarayan, Skelo, RisingSolstace, Chris, raveman2, bub23453, KantonKageX, guitardude115, Nanashi113, ArtanisRose, Monaki-cheung, Totsuka Sakegiri8, ichigo1508, and Apocalyptian Scribe** for their time taken to review my story. Many of you, such as **pyromania, Ookami88, **and** RisingSolstice, **are much better than most of you since they give me LONG THOUGHT OUT REVIEWS! No offence meant to other devoted fans, like **Skelo,Chewie Cookies, **and **Orchamus.** Not everyone can be a winner :P Still though, I do really value all of your support, and hope you will continue to give it :3**

**I'd also like to announce that I've finalized Sasuke's Zanpakuto, and am finishing up Hinata's! Sorry Pryo, it's not your suggestions :( Although Hinata's is…kiiiind of like your idea, but not like what you were saying. No more spoilers though *trollface* Hehehe!**

**Also, YES, Sasuke will eventually leave the village. I know, buzz kill, BUT you are going to LOVE the way I do it! I promise! It's going to be totally different from ANYTHING you've ever read before!**

**Oh wait, that was a spoiler… Damn it.**

**Final note: Since FF has now incorporated a story-cover widget, I might as well take advantage of it, but sadly, I don't know of any fan-art for this fic :( If you have any sort of artistic inclination, what would you say to submitting a cover for the story! Good quality now; no pencil-on-notebook paper now :P**

**Now onto the show!**

* * *

**Chapter 15,  
No Competition**

"I'm not going to say it again! I don't care if you're her teammates! You're not permitted to visit!" the guard said sternly, staring down at the two boys in front of him. Admittedly, it was a bit difficult for him to do with fidgeting, what with the two dangerous looking pair of eyes staring _back_ at him. Neither looked satisfied with that answer, and he knew that for a fact. He'd been arguing for a good part of an hour with them, sticking to his orders and not letting anyone in.

"Then can you at the very least tell us her condition? Or are you incapable of even that much?" the Uchiha spat out venomously, clearly disapproving of his lack of sensibility on the subject.

The man wanted to growl at the both of them. "Look, for the last time, I _cannot _ tell you, show you, communicate to you in any way shape or form the status of patients in treatment unless you're related! And I equally _cannot_ let you in to see them!"

To his surprise, the blonde _did_ growl, and it sounded far too animalistic for his liking.

He was about to tell them to leave or he'd call for more security when the door behind him, the one he was so obstinately guarding, slid open. Immediately, all three of them looked at the person who poked his head out.

"Hey hey, keep it down, all of you," the familiar voice said. "It's not good for recovery."

The blonde's face lit up slightly. "Kabuto-san! What are you doing here?"

Kabuto smiled back at the Uzumaki and gestured to the room behind him, though he blocked any view of the inside. "What do you mean? I'm pretty sure I promised I'd make sure she was ok, did I not? It's not like I'll lightly break that promise," he said, pushing his glasses up on his face, sending a sheen of light flashing over the lenses.

Naruto looked happy at that. "Really? So, how is she? Is she being taken care of?"

"Don't worry she's fine," Kabuto said quickly, raising his hands to ward off any further questions. "But regardless of that, you really _can't_ see her right now."

Immediately, both boys looked at him dejectedly. If a random guard said it, they wouldn't care, but if even he said it, it was more effective. "_But_ you will be able to visit in a day or two, of that I'm fairly certain."

Naruto sighed sadly and looked away disappointedly. "I… I see… Then, could you do me a favor? Since you'll be around her…"

Kabuto blinked at the boy curiously. He was even more surprised when Naruto cautiously leaned forward and raised a hand to the side of his mouth. Kabuto likewise leaned forward, turning his ear to hear.

"…when she wakes up, tell her…" he whispered the rest quietly.

Kabuto blinked curiously for a moment before smiling knowingly. "Ahh, I understand. I'll tell her if she wakes up. But…" He turned and began to pull door closed again. "Personally, I hope she doesn't wake up soon. That way, she'll be able to hear it from your own lips." With a final smile the door closed, hiding Naruto's slight blush from his view.

Sasuke sighed and grabbed his friend's shoulder, motioning for them to leave. Reluctantly he did so, much to the guard's relief.

* * *

Kabuto listened to their steps fade and smiled. He opened the door just a bit again. "You can probably go home now," he told the guard. "Other than them, I doubt she'll have any visitors today."

Though it sounded harsh when he said it like that, the guard hesitantly nodded and left. Kabuto, while he might have been only a genin, was also the son of the head doctor in the hospital (as far as his cover went), and he was a medical ninja to start with; his words trumped those of a non-medical ninja any day.

Kabuto watched him leave and closed the door, silently locking it behind him. He turned and walked into the middle of the room, picking his way between the unconscious bodies of various medical staff around him.

"Hehe, you're teammates are quite the stubborn lot. Especially your boyfriend." he began, though mostly to himself, since he was the only conscious one in the room. "You're quite lucky you know; he even wanted me to tell you he loves you."

In the middle of the room was a bed, with Hinata slumbering deeply beneath its covers. _'She hasn't woken up once since her match. Her body must be exhausted.'_ He sighed as he turned up the thermostat slightly and waited for the warmer air to circulate through the room. When he felt it was an appropriate temperature, he went back to the bed and pulled the covers back.

"Hmph, actually, I think it would be more appropriate to say that _he's_ the lucky one…" Beneath the covers was the naked form of Hinata, blissfully unaware of the embarrassment that no doubt would have only knocked her out anyway.

Even though he was a doctor, and therefore able to view women's bodies objectively, it didn't mean he couldn't respect beauty when he saw it. In fact, he couldn't help but _compliment _it. For her age, he'd never seen anyone as developed as she was.

Curiosity getting the best of him, he allowed his hand to reach down and grasp one her breasts, feeling it carefully. _'Geez, now I'm kind of jealous of you, Naruto-kun.'_ He chuckled to himself as he released her breast and directed his eyes to other parts of her body. Aside from the rising and lowering of her chest as she breathed, she didn't move at all. Over her skin were numerous nodes that hooked up to the machines around her, measuring body temperature and muscle activity. On her head were two similar nodes on either temple and an oxygen mask strapped over her mouth. If her chest didn't indicate she was breathing, the condensed breath on the inside of the mask was proof enough.

Still, he couldn't be too sure. Slipping the mask off, he put his head up next to her mouth, feeling the slow, slightly shallow breaths hit him in the cheek. _'Well, she's not in the best condition right now anyway…'_ he replaced the mask, making sure it was fitted snugly to her mouth.

But what really drew his attention were the burned skin and deep bruises all over her body. The burning was apparently done by a high-grade explosive note, which she'd had the unfortunate displeasure of being too close to when it went off. Not only that, but her hands were nearly charred from similar burns. And the Jyuuken-dealt injuries were readily apparent. He'd dealt with a few of those injuries before, but not many. Still, he'd managed to find a proper way to heal the damage. It was tricky, not impossible.

He sighed as he traced a finger across one of the burns. "I'll be honest, I feel sorry for you. It's like the world's out to get you, isn't it?" He smiled slightly. "I know _that_ feeling…"

His eyes fell on some "healed" patches of scars, which were really just shoddily repaired skin. He _tsk_-ed and made a disgusted face. "You know, if there's one thing I don't like, its shitty work; if you're going to do something, make sure you do it right."

He threw a dirty glance at the unconscious men and women around him. _'Pfft, amateurs.'_

He sighed as he realized he would have to go about healing her the hard way. Reaching into his pouch, he pulled out a small bottle full of dark, round pills. Popping the cap and pouring a few into his hand, he replaced the bottle and moved her mask to the side again, opening her mouth and shoving the two spheres down her throat. He smiled satisfactorily when she unconsciously swallowed them. Replacing the mask, he rolled his neck and cracked his fingers.

"Now then, let's fix you up." His hands glowed an emerald green as he reach down over her scarred tissue. Immediately the skin split open, the red blood beneath oozing out slowly.

Even though in a state of absolute unconsciousness, she let out a pained groan, twitching a little. Kabuto looked at her blindfolded face apologetically. _'Since the skin has already been healed, however poorly, I need to open the wounds again so that the medicine and my own techniques can fix it correctly.'_ He narrowed his eyes disappointedly. _'Though, if only they'd done it right the first time, it would have been an easy, painless fix.'_ Grabbing a rag, he continued to split her skin, dabbing up the blood before healing it again. Thank goodness for the blood clotting pill he'd given her, or else she'd be bleeding much more then she already was.

But he couldn't slack off. _'After all, I do have a time limit.'_

* * *

Naruto looked up and down the man in front of him. He was a white haired older fellow with a light, olive green tunic beneath a red open jacket. Instead of the normal shinobi tabi that most ninja wore, he wore red wooden geta. On his back a massive scroll tied horizontally just above his hip. On his forehead was a metal head plate with "Oil" written on it, and two red lines extended down from his eyes to his chin. He looked actually rather unremarkable in Naruto's eyes.

"So this is the kid you were talking about, Sarutobi-sensei?"

The older man nodded. "Yes. Naruto, this is Jiraiya, one of the three Sannin."

Naruto looked from the Hokage back to the man. "Sannin? I think remember a little about them from class… not much though."

The old man nodded with a smile. "Haha, we'll I'd expect that from you Naruto, but I suppose it's a good thing, since I don't doubt you'll get an earful about them from Jiraiya while you're training."

Naruto blinked. "Wait, this guy's gonna be my trainer?"

After the preliminaries concluded, the Hokage had pulled him aside and told him he knew of someone who would be able to help him in training his Rinnegan powers and to meet them in his office later that day.

The man named Jiraiya frowned down at him. "Not much for manners are ya? Learn to respect your elders brat."

Naruto scowled at him and crossed his arms. "I am respecting you. If I didn't, I wouldn't even be talking to you right now. I only talk to those I trust, and aside for probably a dozen or so people, I don't trust _anyone_ in Konoha."

Jiraiya raised an eyebrow at that but decided not to pursue it yet, since it seemed to be quite the touchy subject. "Fine, I'll take your word for it," he said, offering to try and stay on even terms with the boy. He looked over at the clock and then back to the blonde. "We've got some time. What do you say we head out and talk, maybe grab a bite to eat?"

Naruto was silent for a few seconds before he shrugged, "Sure, why not?" and turned to leave. "Meet me at Ichiraku's Ramen stand when you're ready."

Jiraiya gave a nod and waited for the door to close before speaking again, this time to his former sensei. "There really isn't any doubt about it; that's the Rinnegan for sure."

Sarutobi _hmm_-ed under his breath, tipping his hat a bit. "Do you think you can train him? You're the only one who's had experience with the Rinnegan."

Jiraiya sighed and crossed his arms. "I trained my other student as best I could, so I get the gist of most of his limits. As far as pushing him beyond those limits, I'm not quite sure. But it's worth a shot at least. Besides…" his face darkened sadly. "…knowing who his family was, I can't just do nothing."

Hiruzen's face equally darkened at the memory of the boy's parents. "Yes… I wish he could have met them…"

They were silent for several minutes before Jiraiya walked out silently to join his godson at the restaurant.

* * *

By the time he'd arrived, Naruto had already ordered and downed three massive bowls of ramen and was quickly ordering another. He couldn't help was raise an eyebrow at the boy as he walked in and sat down.

The old man behind the counter greeted him warmly. "Ah another customer! And what can I get for you sir?"

The toad hermit smiled and thought for a moment before shrugging and cocking a thumb at his student-to-be. "Eh, I'll have what he's having."

The man nodded with a laugh. "Including the quantity?"

Jiraiya rolled his eyes and shook his head. "No thanks, I think one'll be just fine."

Teuchi laughed and acknowledged the order.

"So…" Naruto began as he also awaited his next bowl. "When you said 'we'll talk,' what exactly were you thinking of?"

"Well, I guess we'll learn each other's history while training so we'll start with basic stuff; what you like, what you hate, what your hobbies are, maybe even what skills you have."

Naruto blinked at him suspiciously, slurping up a string of noodles as he did so. "You know Kakashi's my sensei, right?"

The Sannin actually had to laugh at that, knowing Kakashi's habit of maintaining ambiguity. "Hahahaha! Don't worry, don't worry. I'm far more open about myself than he is."

Naruto maintained his skeptical look but eventually shrugged. "Ok then, I like ramen," he emphasized by clicking his chopsticks together, "my teammates and my family. I hate… well, I dislike a lot of things, but don't really _hate_ anything…" He thought for a minute before glaring forward as some invisible object. "Oh right, _him_." What Jiraiya didn't see was the image of Neji's smug face, which seemed to have manifested in Naruto's vision. But the blonde shook his head and continued on. "Hobbies are training, _eating_ ramen and training with tou-san."

Jiraiya had to blink in surprise. "Tou-san?"

Naruto nodded. "What, Hokage-jiji didn't tell you?"

Jiraiya shook his head. "Not a word." Internally, he wondered how the boy could have met his father, considering he was dead.

Naruto waved it off. "Ichimaru Gin. He found me a long time ago and adopted me. Despite how annoying he can be, I really do love him, and I'm super thankful that he's taken care of me. If he hadn't, I…" he looked away bashfully. "…I'd probably be dead right now…"

Jiraiya slowly nodded in understanding. _'Ahh, he was adopted. Ichimaru Gin, huh? I'll keep that in mind…'_ But not wanting the air to turn gloomy, he changed the subject. "So if you were adopted, how come you go by Uzumaki Naruto? Wouldn't it be Ichimaru Naruto?"

Naruto smiled and nodded. "I'd wanted to do that from the beginning, but tou-san said that regardless of whose family I was part of legally, I was born an Uzumaki. He told me that I shouldn't so quickly forsake the name of my real parents, whoever they are."

The Sannin had to pinch himself to keep from revealing the boy's lineage to him. If he didn't know by now, it was probably Sarutobi's doing, and that meant he should probably ask him why he'd withheld the information before just spouting it out.

Fortunately the boy didn't linger on it, or it would have become much harder to stay quiet about it. "And I guess I agree with him. They did bring me into the world after all, so I should at least honor them by keeping my birth name."

Jiraiya nodded, respecting the boy's choice. But he couldn't help but ask something that he realized he probably should ask. "So… If you don't mind my asking, how much of your real parents do you know?"

Naruto paused for a moment, not expecting that question. In all honesty, he'd not even thought about that in many years, ever since Gin had arrived in his life. He chuckled lightly and smiled. "Not a thing! Jiji always told me it wasn't important and wouldn't bring them back, so I actually don't know anything about them."

Though he laughed it off, Jiraiya's perceptive eyes could see something beyond the smiling face and cheery attitude. A pained longing… a disappointment… a hollow emptiness. His eyes narrowed subtly. The boy was good at hiding his feelings, and he couldn't help but wonder if the Hokage was trying to keep him from becoming a second Orochimaru. Sure the man actively claimed he was searching for the truth to all ninjutsu, but it had all started with his desire to bring his parents back. A futile goal, but one that eventually matured to one far more ambitious. _'Old man… were you trying to keep him from becoming like Orochimaru? By keeping the history of his own family from him?' _He couldn't stop a grimace from hitting his expression, and Naruto noticed it.

"What? Was it something I said?"

Jiraiya blinked, realizing he'd let his muse leak into the real world. He shook his head and waved it off. "No, nothing. I was just thinking." His eyes narrowed again. _'After this, I'm going to have to have a little chat with sensei.'_

They sat in silence for a while, occasionally slurping on their ramen, and even Naruto had slowed down, as the mood had made him somewhat sad. After several minutes, Jiraiya sighed and spoke. "So, since we have a month to work out the kinks in your system, we'll start first thing tomorrow. Meet me at the hot springs after breakfast."

He put down the money for his meal and left, Naruto's acknowledgement only barely registering in his ears.

* * *

"The preliminaries have concluded. They'll move onto the finals now…"

Orochimaru was silent as his subordinate spoke. He wouldn't admit it to many, but he was a man of simple tastes. He preferred simplicity and sterility in an atmosphere, but he could also respect and enjoy the serene nostalgia he felt from being within the walls of his old forsaken home. "It's become very quiet here… Or rather, it's become naively peaceful. While other countries are rumored to be in military expansion races…"

Kabuto coked his head at his master. "Could we take it now?"

Orochimaru smirked and crossed his arms. "It's likely. I mean it's not like it'd be that fun to kill the old man, but…"

Kabuto raised an eyebrow. "If I may say so, it seems to me as though you are still hesitant to act." He leaned against one of the pillars of the small balcony in a very relaxed state. Neither of them was in any danger here. "After this, all the hidden villages will be embroiled in a massive conflict. It will be long and bloody. And this includes the hidden sound, and you plan on being the trigger to all this."

He looked askance at the snake-like man beside him. "And to that end, Sasuke… he's a bullet isn't he?"

Orochimaru was silent for a second before he closed his eyes in a chuckle. "My, you're so intuitive it's scary."

Kabuto smiled humbly at his master's praise. "Not really. After all I didn't have any clue about Dosu, Kin and Zaku. As a part of my assignment to gather information on Sasuke, I foolishly provoked them into attacking me; I wanted to know their capabilities first hand." He sighed regrettably. "In the end I overestimated my own defenses. You speak too highly of me."

His smile faded slightly. "It seems like you still don't truly trust me."

The snake Sannin shrugged off the accusation. "Was it really important to tell you, my right hand man, about something as insignificant as those three? That in and of itself is proof of my trust. That's why I'm entrusting Sasuke to you."

Kabuto raised an eyebrow. "Hmm?"

"I noticed that his curse seal has been sealed, regrettably before he even got a chance to show it off in the prelims. Not that it will ultimately change anything, as long as the darkness in Sasuke's heart remains anyway. " The older man elaborated. "…I want you to kidnap him immediately."

Kabuto, slightly taken aback by the man, cocked his head at him curiously. "How unlike you. You seem anxious."

"…There _was_ something bothering me a little…"

Kabuto smirked. "Might it be Uzumaki Naruto?"

'_Hmhm, smart lad.'_ Orochimaru likewise smiled. "Getting Sasuke to come to me hinges on the darkness in his heart. From the data you've recorded, it seems that that darkness is diminishing, likely due to the presence of the Kyuubi boy. In fact, his whole team has quite a bit of influence of Sasuke's life. The faster we separate him from them, the better."

Kabuto sighed. "I'd normally agree, but kidnapping Sasuke might end up being difficult. If he was in a state where he could be abducted, that's one thing, but since he's fully functional, kidnapping might be asking a bit much of me."

The Sannin laughed lightly. "Haha, I suppose so." He looked out to the distant buildings of the bustling village center. "I also understand you did some very unnecessary things with that Hyuuga girl. Hinata was it?"

Kabuto was silent for a few seconds before speaking. "What can I say? I'm a medical ninja. Despite what you might think, I'm a bit of a perfectionist; seeing the half-assed job those Konoha doctors did… I just couldn't help myself."

Orochimaru chuckled. "Curious. It's almost as if you're enjoying toying with them as much as I am. Kabuto, you never cease to amaze me."

The silver haired boy grinned darkly and adjusted his glasses, sending light reflecting across them, hiding his eyes from view. "You speak far too highly of me, my lord."

* * *

**The next morning.**

Humans naturally tend to shift toward the negative side of life. Because of this, it's entirely likely that every human has thought of what kind of deaths they would prefer and which ones they wouldn't. Hinata was no exception, but of all the deaths she had thought of, accidental asphyxiation wasn't on the list. Though if it was, it would be on her "prefer" list, especially if it was because Naruto was hugging her.

The blonde's arms were clamped solidly around her, and even though it was slightly painful, she couldn't stop herself from smiling and hugging him back as best she could. "N-Naruto-k-kun… y-y-your h-holding me t-too t-tight…!"

Immediately his grip loosened and she felt her boy fall back onto the hospital bed.

"Sorry! Sorry!" he quickly apologized. "I'm just so glad to see you're alright!"

He, Sasuke, and two doctors stood in the room, each looking at the two with mixed expressions. For Sasuke, his expression was equal to Naruto's; thankful joy that his teammate would be fine. But for the two doctors, they were whispering between each other in hushed, worried tones.

Considering the preoccupation with the other two in the room, he was able to divert his attention to eavesdropping on the duo of medical staff.

"…-erfectly fine. We don't know what happened," said one nervously. Apparently they weren't even concerned with the blonde's relationship with the Hyuuga princess.

"So you're saying you fell asleep, woke up, and her scars and burns were gone?" asked the other one worriedly.

The first one nodded, a bit of hesitation in his movements. "I… I can't explain it… One second we were all checking on her status, the next we were passed out on the floor. I can't describe what happened…"

The second one made an awkward groan. "It almost sounds as if you were caught in a genjutsu. I'm not a ninja so I can't say for sure."

"But why would someone use a genjutsu on doctors just so they could heal her?"

The second one was silent for several seconds. "…I don't know…"

Sasuke's eyes narrowed. When he and Naruto had arrived first thing in the morning, they were told that something had happened to Hinata, and that they wouldn't be able to see her today. Of course, this threw Naruto in a frenzy and he barreled through the halls toward her room. Practically smashing through the door, he was met with a surprised, but fully healed Hinata. And here they all stood. The two doctors had come in seconds after, demanding they leave the hospital now, but a cold glare from the Uchiha shut them down.

Sasuke filed the information away. If she was healed, that was all that mattered, and didn't need to worry about a possible poisoning, since they'd already probably done precautionary tests for that. Indeed, it confused him, but it wasn't something he couldn't save for later. If he needed to, he could always talk to Kakashi about it. He probably would anyway.

"W-what's wrong Sasuke-kun?"

He blinked in surprise as he looked up to see his teammates staring at him. He grinned and waved off their concern. "Just happy to see you're alright Hinata. You gave us quite a scare back there when Naruto told us you had a heart attack."

Hinata looked away bashfully. "T-they said it was only a mild one…"

"Well, you're alright now and that's all that matters!" Naruto exclaimed excitedly, rocking on his hands as he leaned against the small bed.

Hinata blushed as she looked into his ringed eyes. Apparently he'd decided not to conceal his newfound Kekkei Genkai. Though they were no longer blue, and it seemed weird that they weren't, they still held the same warm glow his old ones did. In a way, it made her happy; even if his form changes, he would still be Naruto. _Her_ Naruto.

But even so, every time she looked into his eyes, regardless of how he was looking at her, she couldn't shake the feeling of… submission. A desire to obey; to comply. In a way, it wasn't unlike how it felt when she stared into Sasuke's Sharingan, though to a much more potent degree. It was as if merely being under his gaze made her body _want_ to submit.

It was silly idea, but she couldn't deny the feeling. It was there, and in a way it made sense. The eyes of someone who had the power to shape the world into either paradise or Hell probably _should_ have that effect on people. But even so, even as he looked at her, with loving intent in his eyes, she felt as if she were special; unique. As if she was privileged in some way.

She couldn't really explain it.

"Well, now that I know that you're ok, I can stop worrying! I'd stay longer, but I'm meeting up with someone who said they know how to train my Rinnegan after breakfast," Naruto said turning to her sadly. "Get some rest Hina-chan." He leaned in and placed a kiss on her forehead, squeezing her hand reassuringly. "I'll be back to visit as soon as possible."

She watched him go sadly and was even more sad to see Sasuke also bid her farewell. Left alone with just herself and the two doctors, who did only the briefest checks on her before deeming her fine, for the moment, before leaving.

She sighed as she leaned back in her bed, resting her hands on her stomach as she looked out the window. The blue, sparsely clouded skies did help to brighten her mood a bit, and it allowed her mind to wander. For an instant, she thanked Fate for this small respite; she could spend her time dreaming of the future. And of course, anyone who knew her well at all knew _exactly_ what was in that future dream.

She rolled over and pulled the blankets over her shoulders, not sleeping, but allowing her to keep warm as she lazily stared out the window of her room. She had no doubt of her friends' and teammates' abilities, nor in their potential to grow even stronger. The only regret she had was that she couldn't be there to train and grow stronger with them. In a way, it kind of hurt her… deep down…

* * *

**Three days later**

Sasuke stared back at his two sensei, sweat pouring from his brow as he leaned forward on his knees. The training he'd suffered through in just the first three days of their one month of preparation was pure hell. But it was an enjoyable hell, if he did say so himself.

_Flashback no Jutsu_

"_You're both going to train me?" Sasuke asked in genuine surprise. He'd arrived at the training ground designated to him by Kakashi the afternoon earlier, so he'd expected the masked man to be there, but Gin was a complete surprise. _

_Gin sighed and scratched the back of his head. "I'll admit I've been kinda lackin' in my fairness, I guess. I can use these powers, Naruto can use 'em, and even Hina-chan can use 'em. Since you used Shunpo in your prelim match, I'm gonna assume Naru and Hina taught you on their own, right?"_

_Sasuke shrugged. "More or less. They taught me the basics; I practiced it on my own."_

_Gin nodded. "I'm gonna teach ya more than that." He reached into a duffle bag and took out a series of swords. At Sasuke's questioning glance, the man simply directed him to choose one of his liking. The Uchiha stepped forward and looked through the case, pulling out the ones that caught his eye. Then, seeing no other interesting swords, he looked at the ones he's pulled out and continued to sort through the ones he didn't want until at last he was down to two blades. He deliberated between them both carefully. One was a standard sized katana, but a with black threaded handle and a four-point star guard. The other had a far straighter blade, but still maintained a bit of a curve. It had a blue threaded handle and a unique, swirling guard; it was a circle, but with three comet tails whirling around it, not unlike what his Sharingan might look like if all three tomoe merged together into one. It was probably because of that familiarity that he chose it._

_Flashback End_

The training he'd had so far was rigorous and tough, but both Kakashi and Gin were doing their best to push him along. It had surprised him at first that the man would help to train _him_ rather than his own adopted son. But Gin assured him that Naruto needed no further training from him at the moment, and that he was receiving his own special type of lessons from someone far more qualified.

So far, he'd been using Shunpo nonstop, as Kakashi said its speed was essential to learning his own jutsu. As he took a brief breather, Sasuke had to wonder what kind of jutsu would require such immense speed as Shunpo afforded.

Considering how fast he was progressing, he wouldn't have to wait long to find out.

* * *

"W-what?" Hinata blinked almost stupidly at the buxom beauty in front of her.

"What, you didn't hear the first time?" she asked, cocking her hip to the side and placing a hand on it. In all honesty, the woman didn't know what to think of the girl. Everything she knew about her was based on her limited interactions with them and learned via third-party informants; Gin primarily. The same went for the rest of her team, save the blonde boy Gin had apparently become father to.

The Hinata girl seemed to be, in her opinion, stubbornly dedicated to Naruto in a way that seemed almost unhealthy. The way she timidly acted around pretty much everyone also seemed to her to be equally unhealthy. In fact, the girl seemed to be the very behavioral antithesis to herself; shy, closed off, polite, sober, insecure, and conservative.

Under normal circumstances, she wouldn't bother even approaching the girl, but Gin had suggested it, and she supposed it might be good for her; other than her time with Gin, which was fleeting at best, she didn't have much in the way of a social life here in the new world she found herself in. Taking on the girl as a sort of an apprentice might allow her an opportunity to relax and break into the crowd, so to speak.

"I'm offering to teach you how to use a Zanpakuto. It's not like I'll think ill of you or anything if you don't want to."

Immediately the girl started forward, even though she still lay in her bed. "N-No! I-I mean… I'd l-love to! I-I was just caught off guard… Gin-sensei told me he'd e-eventually teach me, b-but I hadn't though s-so soon…"

She looked away slightly, abashedly poking her fingers together in a nervous manner.

Rangiku stepped up to the bed and leaned forward, scrutinizing the girl with a skeptical expression. Hinata recoiled slightly awkwardly, not knowing what the woman was looking for. Matsumoto carefully eyed the girl up and down before settling for a few seconds on her torso. Straightening back up, she asked, "when will you be able to leave?"

"T-The doctors said I can leave when I want to, but they recommended I stay so they can m-monitor my condition…"

"That's not what I asked," the older woman replied. "I know you can leave whenever. I'm asking when you can be _ready_ to leave. I don't like waiting, so I'd like to start teaching you right away if possible."

Immediately, a shining, sparkling light lit up in Hinata's eyes as she clumsily scrambled to prepare to leave. Thankful it was only her and the other woman in the room as she slipped off her gown and slid into her normal clothes. Considering the amount of damage her outfit suffered by the end of her match with Neji, Naruto had gone to her house to grab a spar set. Secretly, she wondered if he'd actually gone in to get her clothes or whether one of her attendants went and got them for him. If Naruto actually _had_ gone into her room…

She blushed at the thought, though, it wasn't entirely embarrassing… She'd have to ask him about it later.

When she'd dressed herself and got everything she needed ready, she grabbed her bag and stood at attention before the larger chested woman. Rangiku was surprised at the speed with which the girl went about getting ready. According to the medical reports, she should have had nasty burns all over her body, which would no doubt still be excruciatingly painful. And then she'd heard the girl had been miraculously healed overnight, which was a complete surprise to both her and the doctors themselves. Seeing her almost bounce around with energy, after watching her get pummeled in her match the day before… If she hadn't seen it, she wouldn't have believed it.

"I'm ready!" the Hyuuga princess called without a bit of hesitation.

Rangiku blinked in surprise as the girl stood at attention, her eyes eager for learning. "Oh, um…" the vice-captain scratched her neck gently. "…I'm not the uptight type, so you don't have to treat me like some military superior or anything."

Hinata cocked her head cutely to the side. "But aren't you a vice-captain?"

The blonde almost smiled. "Not anymore. Not here anyway."

The Hyuuga child gave a slow nod and relaxed her stance. "So… what's first then?"

Rangiku smiled as she stretched her arms lazily. "First, we're going to the hot springs to get cleaned up and relax together. We don't know much about each other, so the first step it to fix that."

Immediately Hinata knew what kind of woman this was. She still had some left over dislike for her for when she attacked Naruto on their way back from Wave… maybe this would be a good way to clear the air between them.

Nodded obediently, the woman turned and led the way out.

* * *

Few humans can calmly claim they lived in the dark. The dark, by nature, was a maddening thing that man had much difficulty even comprehending, and man, by nature, is afraid of what he doesn't know. But _he_ was one of those rare creatures who both was, and _wasn't_ human. The darkness was his home. His sanctuary.

It was his only world.

And in his shaded world, he could see only the opaque images of unimportant others he had no interest in. But if they by some unfortunate chance _did_ interest him, then the darkness vanished from around them. Those who he could see were his targets. His goals. His desires.

He was a creature created to destroy, and destroy he would, for that was all he _could_ do. Every time he killed, he was fulfilling his purpose. It was his life; the only one he knew, and everything else was a lie.

No one could claim to truly understand him, for only those who knew that same darkness could know what he knew. And in that regard, he was a lone philosopher. And he had no greater wish than to spread that philosophy across the face of the earth written on the ground with blood.

Soon… Soon he would have another chance to prove meaning to his existence. Another chance to give his life meaning again. His eyes were set on his targets. He was in the zone. And no one could shake him.

"Gaara, you should get some rest. The exams aren't for another month. We'll need to save our strength until then."

Oh right… there were those annoying buzzing sounds that came from the mouths of those who called themselves his brother and sister. But what did their words matter to a being like him? How could they even hope to understand him? His life by nature was different from theirs. Their standards were not his. Their goals were not his. What they wanted was not what he wanted. What they needed was not was he needed. Nothing about them applied to him.

He cracked open an eyed to glare at the painted boy who called himself his brother, Kankuro. For a moment, he was tempted to retort, but he'd done so so many times before that he was sure it would only be a waste of breath. So he settled for uncrossing his arms and leaning off of his wall and walking to the door, ignoring the questioning words from the other two in the room. He stepped through the door and into the crisp night air.

He eyed the waxing moon idly, knowing the whole village would be lit better by it.

Oh he would rest. But his method of resting was incomprehensible to lower creatures like those other people.

He was different, and it was a curse.

* * *

Time can be measured in a multitude of ways. Two million, five hundred and ninety-two thousand seconds. Forty-three thousand and two-hundred minutes. Seven-hundred and twenty hours. Thirty days. One month.

And no matter how one measured it, it was, for everyone, the longest month of their lives. For the entirety of the month not a single exam-taker could be spotted save for the rare trip to a restaurant or spring, and even those were at night in the dark. Some weren't even seen at _all_. Of course all of the villagers knew that they were training for the big event, and for them, it made for an exciting time.

Numerous royals and dignitaries had begun to trickle in, more and more in the final few days leading up to the exam. Most were staying in top-line hotels or privately owned homes rented or purchased beforehand. The most important individuals wouldn't be showing up until the day of, simply because they were much too busy to spare a few extra days to sightsee and enjoy the hosting village. One of those individuals was the Kazekage himself, along with his entourage of guards and caterers. Many a villager was whispering excited words to their neighbors about the various rumors regarding the greatly anticipated exam.

Almost everyone in the village would be watching the matches, and those that wouldn't be were preparing their stands and facilities to accommodate the massive crowds that were bound to wander into their clutches in the post-exam hype, prepared to enjoy their three day weekend.

However, this was a ritual repeated every time the Hidden Leaf hosted the exams, and many veteran shop owners had prepared well in advance of the actual event. To them, and to many others, this would be a busy, but rewarding day of sales.

Why should it be anything else?

* * *

Hiashi cracked his neck before he opened his office door. It was a rare occurrence, but he let himself enjoy the bittersweet pain that stung his joints. Stress was always a part of the job, but the past month had been very detrimental to his usually carefully maintained stress levels.

He closed the door behind him and made his way to his second daughter's room. Various clan members were hustling and bustling to get ready for the matches later that morning. Their excitement seemed to infect him as well, for he felt a slight bit of anxiety well inside him; a relatively foreign (and highly unappreciated) feeling. He allowed himself to think back on the source of his accumulating tension.

_Flashback: Thirty days ago._

_Hiashi took a calming breath as the dozen-or-so councilmen and women took their seats around the table of the meeting room. The suddenness and urgency with which Hiashi had ordered their assemblage both surprised and concerned them, and they were eerily silent as they settled in their places. There were no murmurs or whispers; they just looked at him waiting. _

_Not wanting to delay much anyway, he tapped his fingers on the table a few times before sitting up straight. "Ladies and gentlemen, it has come to my attention that there have been some… inappropriate attempts to gather information on my first daughter and her courter. Worse yet, I understand it was done in such a fashion that _my_ persona was used."_

_His white eyes glanced across the table slowly, making sure each of them knew he was pissed, and that he had no doubts that some, if not all of them were responsible. Many of them sat stone-faced, while others glanced away subtly. _

_He continued. "Fortunately, or perhaps unfortunately for some of you, this impersonator was caught and disposed of." His voice lowered just enough to set the tone. "I'm not in the mood to play games, so I want to know why the council is going behind my back. I thought we'd all agreed to this."_

_There was a brief silence in the room before Hikishi, a senior member and a person Hiashi personally liked, raised his voice in response. "To be perfectly honest Hiashi, there are few in this room who can honestly say we're happy with this little arrangement you've set up. Since you're the clan head, we can't exactly say no to your decisions, and it's because of that that many of us feel like we've been bottlenecked into agreeing with it. However, we, and I include myself in this group, don't feel entirely satisfied with your decision."_

_Hiashi crossed his arms firmly. "And you think using deception to attain information about the two of them, from the boy's _father_ no less, is somehow a good idea?"_

"_I'll be frank with you Hiashi; I don't like it. _We_ don't like it. And it's just plain wrong. A Hyuuga heir marrying a relative nobody is simply unacceptable to us. Aside from the Kyuubi, which can just as easily be argued to be a _dis_advantage as much as you think the opposite, what does he have to offer? Wealth? Power? Influence? No. Nothing. He has absolutely nothing else. That said, we simply _cannot _understand why in the blazing seven hells you are so set on this ridiculous concept of marrying your firstborn, the _heiress_ of this clan, off to someone who barely even exists!"_

_Hikishi's voice had raised considerably higher by the end, and it revealed a lot to Hiashi about how much animosity the man held for his decision. He also had no doubt the feeling was shared by most of those in the room. He carefully looked among them before asking, "And you're all in agreement on this?"_

_Most of them nodded, a few shrugged indifferently. Hiashi let the silence hang in the air for a few tense seconds before he took a gathering breath. "I understand. However, due to facts recently revealed, I can tell you this; you're all dead wrong."_

_The various men and women started in surprise. "How so?"_

_Hiashi allowed a small smile. "…Let's make a deal."_

_Hikishi cocked his head slightly. "What kind of deal?"_

"_For the next month until the chunin exams are complete no actions will be taken against my daughter's team, or Hinata herself."_

"_And… what do we get out of this?"_

_Hiashi's knowing smile widened slightly. "After the exams, you can decide for yourself whether the Uzumaki boy is worthy or not."_

_Each of the other individuals looked at each other with the same look; Hiashi knew something they didn't. But he also seemed confident in his belief that what they would see would be enough to make up their minds, and that information was too tempting to pass up._

_With some reluctance, they accepted his proposal._

_Flashback end._

Whether they'd kept their end of the bargain, he couldn't be absolutely sure, but he'd assume if they hadn't Gin would have found out about it and told him. Seeing as he hadn't seen hide nor hair of the man since his last visit, it was safe to say they probably did. However, that also meant that Hiashi was going to be on the spot for the remainder of the day. To be honest, at first, he'd had no way of proving whether Gin's claim was true or not, until he began uncharacteristically poking around some of the jounin instructors (when he could find them) for confirmation. What he'd heard had him smiling victoriously, knowing his gamble would pay off; everything they'd described fit with what little he knew about the elusive and infamous Rinnegan.

It was an interesting thing; to be excited about a "new" eye technique. He knew a lot about the Sharingan, and naturally he knew most of everything there was to know about the Byakugan, but seeing the third, _most_ powerful doujutsu in the world made him somewhat giddy with excitement. Even though he'd heard of it, he had no idea what it could do. He wondered how it would fare against his nephew's Byakugan skills.

Focusing back on reality, he realized he'd wandered around to his eldest daughter's room.

He stood there, silently, for a moment before hesitantly knocking on the door. Receiving no answer, he opened it up enough to peek inside. What he saw almost made the corner of his mouth twitch. Hinata was sprawled across her bed, still half clothed and the slight pungent stench of stale perspiration indicated she must have come back from training the night before and passed out soon after arriving home.

He stepped in quietly. It made him happy to know she'd taken to training herself into the dirt in the last four weeks, but it also somewhat concerned him. As he'd honestly stated to Gin before, the ex-Shinigami was more of a father to her than her own flesh and blood was, and he fully condoned Ichimaru taking her as his own child. However, that didn't mean that he had the occasional spate of concern for her.

He stepped over, awkwardly hesitating before sitting on the side of the bed and placing a hand on Hinata's shoulder. "Hinata… Hinata." He shook her a bit more forcefully when he realized gentle taps weren't going to work. An exhausted groan left her lips as she tried her best to remain asleep. "Hinata, wake up."

It might have been the sound of his firm voice that woke her, for as soon as he spoke the third time her eyes clenched, and then opened. Her lavender orbs circled her sockets as she gathered her wits, and as soon as she spotted him sitting there, she immediately sat up, though shakily. "F-father!" Her eyes darted to the clock on the stand beside her bed. Immediately she realized it was already late morning, and that she should have been up long ago.

Seeing her come to this conclusion, he placed a hand on her to stop her. "Don't worry. I know you've been busy lately, so I'll excuse it."

She looked at him with an almost disbelieving face, before she looked askance nervously. "Th-thank you…"

"Regardless, today is the day of the final exam. I woke you because I thought you'd want to be able to cheer for your team in person."

To his credit, her reaction was quite predictable, but the sight of it made him smile invisibly; she sat up straight as a pole, her eyes wide at her own forgetfulness. Then, just as suddenly, she jumped off the bed and ran into her personal bathroom, mindless of the fact that she was clad in only a shirt and panties. A surprising act of ignorance, or perhaps obliviousness. Though, seeing as he _was_ her father, she might not have cared about it as much as she might have had is been someone else. But he couldn't be sure; he didn't know her that well after all.

"I'll be out in a few minutes father! Please don't leave without me!" she called out from the other side of the door, even as the shower turned on, almost drowning her out.

"We aren't leaving for a little bit anyway. Take your time." She didn't answer, but he knew she heard. Satisfied she would be ready in time, he got up and turned to leave. Immediately he saw a small pair of white eyes and a brown tuft of hair between the sliding door and knew who it was. For the briefest of moments, their gazes met, and then the figure dashed away. Grimacing, the older Hyuuga was at the door instantly, standing hallway between the door and the hallway, he turned to his right and called out.

"Hanabi."

The fleeing figure slowed to a stop, but didn't turn to address him. "Yes father?" Her voice was low and noticeably full of negative emotion.

Hiashi narrowed his eyes slightly, knowing the probable reason. "We'll be leaving soon. Make sure to be ready to come with the rest of us."

"Yes father." And without another word she continued on in the same direction she'd started in.

Hiashi sighed quietly once she was gone. It was getting worse. Ever since word had gotten out about Hinata being courted by the village pariah, Hanabi had become increasingly frustrated. Actually, "bitter" probably fit her better, if he had to be perfectly honest, and he had a pretty good idea why. Until the fateful night that Naruto was duped into stealing the Forbidden Scroll, the council (himself included) had long before already written Hinata off as unsuitable to become successor to head of the clan. Because of that, they'd been focusing all of their efforts on Hanabi, who was being trained to take her sister's place, despite Hinata's natural birthright.

However, once Hanabi caught wind of the arrangement the council had agreed upon regarding her sister and Naruto, she'd become suddenly unpleasant in her dealings with most of the family. When she trained, she put an obvious amount of effort into doing her absolute best, and then some, to the point where she would nearly kill herself going the extra, rather unnecessary mile. The training programs for the clan's successor were rigorous and severe, but even the strictest, most elitist elders had to admit Hanabi was going perhaps a bit _too_ far.

Though others might not realize the true reason, it was only all to plain in Hiashi's eye; she was afraid of losing her chance at being the successor to the clan. The very fact that the council had agreed to the arrangement meant that they realized some use for Hinata. Had Naruto been of influential or wealthy lineage, his would be the name Hinata would take upon marriage. However, as Hinata's family name was greater in value than Naruto's, Naruto would instead marry into the _Hyuuga _family. That meant that Hinata would remain a part of the family, _and_ be instated as the proper heiress.

Hinata and Hanabi had never had a very good relationship, and he admitted he was partly to blame for it. By the time his youngest daughter was cognitively aware, Hinata was already failing to meet the clan's expectations. The result was Hanabi being raised to take her sister's place. This made Hanabi very sensitive to any success her sister achieved, knowing that if Hinata proved to be of any use in the clan's eyes, her chance at being heiress would be gone. This instilled a deep rooted dislike for her elder sister, and turned them bitterly against each other. Actually, the bitterness was one sided, he supposed, as Hinata held no apparent ill will of _any_ kind toward her sibling.

As Hiashi closed the door to his daughter's room, he realized that the very appearance of concern for Hinata indicated to Hanabi that she had somehow found a use to the clan again. No doubt Hanabi had found this to be a bad omen. Hiashi just hoped his youngest wouldn't do anything untoward in an attempt to sabotage her sister.

Deep in his gut though, he knew it wouldn't be the way he hoped. It almost never was.

* * *

The massive crowds of people migrating toward the arena we indicative to the citizens of the village of how crowded the place was bound to be, which pressed upon them a sense of urgency to get their before their fellows, lest they lose all the good seats. But the citizens weren't the only ones thinking this. Many of the off-duty shinobi were of the same idea, though for them speed was less of a problem. Despite popular belief, shinobi did _not_ run across roofs indiscriminately to reach destinations. Many a complaint had been made regarding such actions before, and just as many a fine had been paid for disrupting the peace. Not only that but any roof repairs that were required within several months of the incident would be paid for out of that ninja's own pocket.

Because of this, unless there was a valid reason for them to use the roofs as a transport system, they tended to stay on the ground. However, that was only for those who weren't skilled enough to either A, not make a noise, or B, not get caught. Fortunately, Kiba was both of those. Sure it wasn't exactly _legal_ but then again, he was a junior ninja; it wasn't like people actually expected him to know rules like that.

He grinned excitedly as he made his way to the circular coliseum in the distance, Akamaru tucked comfortably in his jacket. Amidst all the hustle and bustle of the village, nobody would be paying any special attention to the rooftops, nor surprised by any sudden noises. Besides that, security was always a bit tighter during big events like this, so seeing ninja jump from roof to roof as they watched out for trouble wasn't an uncommon sight.

And besides all of the above reasons (which he came up with within the span of a few dozen seconds should he be required to provide a valid reason why he was using the unofficial "roof transit system"), he was simply too excited to care whether he was caught or not. The upcoming matches were going to be a spectacle to see, and he couldn't move fast enough to get to the arena.

"Hehe, Naruto versus Neji huh? What I wouldn't give for a bag of popcorn." His excited comment was answered by a shrill bark from below him as Akamaru poked his head out the neck of his jacket. Unfortunately, food wasn't provided at the stadium, as the fights were often bloody and brutal, and many a person had lost their lunch over the gruesome scenes created during the exams, which in turn disgusted those around them. Because of this, attendees were discouraged from bringing food into the stadium unless they were sure they could handle it.

Sadly, any popcorn he'd have brought would have gone cold long before he reached the arena. Besides, he was sure Chouji would bring several extra snacks he would be willing to share.

Despite losing to Naruto, Kiba held no grudge, though he did possess a keen desire to see what else his blonde comrade could do. After waking in the infirmary, he had been thoroughly disappointed to learn he'd lost. After recovering a bit, his team had come by to visit and wish him well. Annoyingly, he couldn't recall how the match ended, and even after being told about how Naruto had wrecked the place, and then Naruto's promise to kill Neji if he ever raised a hand against his teammate… he found it extremely disappointed that he'd missed it.

It was for that very reason that he was so amped to see him in action again, this time as an observer. Kiba knew that Neji was strong; even he had been tentative about fighting the Hyuuga in the prelims, and he'd initially counted himself lucky that he'd ended up against Naruto. Unfortunately he hadn't anticipated the blonde's sudden acquisition of power.

A brief flash of familiar colors caught his eye and he dropped to the street below, rushing to catch up with his team. Shino and Sakura both walked beside each other, silently, as Shino's countenance didn't permit much idle conversation even on a good day. Consequently, Sakura's face brightened when she heard Kiba's call to wait up.

"There you are Kiba! Where were you? I thought we agreed that we'd meet up at my house earlier," Sakura said halfway accusatory, as if she were annoyed that he'd forced her deal with Shino's… Shino-ness without anyone to talk to.

Kiba simply smirked at her. "Hehe, sorry, had some family stuff to do first. Besides I'm here now so relax."

Sakura merely placed her hands on her hips and pouted, clearly irritated at him. _'Oh well, she'll get over it in, like, ten minutes, give or take.'_

"Anyway, since I'm here, lets hurry up and get to the arena, I want to get some seats while the getting's good." Taking the initiative, he started walking, prompting his teammates to follow.

Naturally, Sakura started talking. "So who do you think is going to win their fights?"

Kiba frowned for a moment before scrunching his eyes. "Sorry, what were the matchups again?"

Sakura sighed slightly but perked up immediately after, using her "teaching voice" as Kiba had dubbed it. "Its Naruto versus Neji, that creepy Sand kid versus Sasuke-kun, that other Sand guy, the one in makeup, versus Shino, the Sand girl (I think her name was Temari) versus Nara Shikamaru, and then the last Sound genin against the winner of Temari and Shikamaru's match."

Kiba nodded with each naming, the images of each of the combatants refreshing in his mind. "Ha, what a lineup. Who're you looking forward to seeing? Oh wait, of course it's gonna be Sasuke, right?"

Sakura gave him a look as if to say he'd be crazy to assume anything else. "Of course! Sasuke-kun's the one who'll become chunin, I'm sure of it," she said confidently, though her head dropped slightly and she looked away. "Though… a lot of them are pretty strong… and scary…"

Kiba turned his eyes on his other teammate. "How 'bout you Shino?"

"Considering I'm part of the tournament, I'm a bit biased toward my own match," he said stoically. "Though if I had to name a particular fight, I would have a difficult time choosing between Naruto-san's and Sasuke-san's. Both of them interest me."

Kiba nodded. He figured it would be like that. Though to be honest, most of the village was looking forward to those same matches. For one, the Gaara kid was apparently well known simply for the fact that he'd be facing Sasuke. However, there were some whispers of anticipation about the fight between Naruto and the pretentious Hyuuga simply for the backstory between them. Kiba and the rest of the examinees had kind of already figured it out, but rumors were spreading about Naruto being "involved" with Hinata, the Hyuuga princess (the extent of their involvement tended to vary depending on the source). That, combined with the rumor/half-truth that Neji had beaten Hinata to within an inch of her life, and Naruto had consequently outright threatened the boy with death if he ever touched her again made for a highly romanticized and somewhat twisted "Romeo and Juliet" story that had many a spectator anticipating the match.

But for Kiba, it was insulting, personally. If they were only interested in Naruto and Neji's fight to get their drama fix, and were looking forward to Sasuke and Gaara's fight for their skill quality fix, then that meant that they considered Naruto weaker than Sasuke. And since Kiba had been beaten by Naruto, that kind of thinking went straight to his pride. _'No matter how I'd like to pass it off as a fluke, I know for a fact; Naruto's strong…'_

Being the heir to the Inuzuka household, he took great pride in his skills. The fact that he was even beat was a feat in and of itself. But it wasn't like he couldn't take a loss. It may have been close, but in the brief instant where they collided for the last time, Kiba felt a strength from the blonde he'd never anticipated. He couldn't explain it, but it he couldn't hold a grudge against him. In fact, if he had to be totally honest with himself, every time he thought back on their fight, he couldn't help a strange sensation from tickling the back of his brain; a sensation that made him think, "why am I fighting him instead of following him?"

It was the oddest thing, and he couldn't explain it, but it only made him look forward to his classmate's match all the more. _'If I'm gonna have those kind of subservient feelings, I want to know if he's even worth admiring…'_

"Hm? You say something Kiba?"

The Inuzuka blinked out of his thoughts and glanced at his pink-haired teammate. Did he say that out loud? "Oh, nothing. Just lookin' forward to the match is all."

Sakura smiled, buying it. "I know, me too! I'm sure Sasuke-kun will win."

Kiba smirked humorously. _'Wrong match Sakura.'_

The arena loomed ahead of them.

* * *

Ino sighed as she sat next to Chouji, glad to have finally found some seats. "Ahh, feels so good to sit down!" She'd been walking for the greater part of an hour trying to find her teammate among the crowds of people. Chouji smiled at her as he retracted a hand from his bag of chips. "Oh, hey Ino! Finally made it huh?"

Ino huffed indignantly. "Hmph. How do they expect us to find seats around here? Honestly!" Fortunately Chouji had saved a seat for her by stacking a pile of snack food on the chair next to him as a place holder. Even so, it really wasn't necessary; to her surprise, this part of the stands wasn't as populated as the others, though she assumed that was because they were higher up.

She sat down with a sigh, watching as the participating genin began to gather in the center of the arena. So far Gaara, his two teammates, Shikamaru, and Hyuuga Neji had showed up. They were still waiting on Naruto, Sasuke and Shino to arrive. She couldn't claim to know Shino much at all, but she knew enough about him to know he'd be arriving shortly. Sasuke could take all the time he wanted, as far as she was concerned, but exam rules dictated that if you weren't present when your match was called, you'd be disqualified. She'd learned that from her parents. But as far as she knew Sasuke _and_ Naruto, neither one cared much for rules or regulations. They did as they pleased, and anyone who didn't like it could shove it. Ii was one reason she was so obsessed with Sasuke; his dark handsomeness, combined with his lone-wolf attitude just screamed "future husband material" to her. But no one could judge her for it, since it appeared to be a norm among the girls of her generation.

In all honesty, she realized it was kind of sad, but she didn't know Naruto that well at all. Other than the fact that in the Academy he was a quiet student, a hard worker, and a bit of a goof, she couldn't say much else besides that. She'd heard the stories though (as had most of Konoha) that he was an expert at tomfooleries and shenanigans. Though he wasn't as active in that roll, she's heard several of his exploits (quite a few at her Sasuke's expense) and was immediately put off from him, if only for the embarrassment he caused to her idol.

That made what he did in the preliminaries all that much more unbelievable. She didn't believe it to be honest. She knew better than most that gossiping led to extreme hyperboles and exaggerations, so she found it hard to imagine the stories were true. She cursed the fact she'd been unconscious for it, but such was the price for fighting Sakura. She tenderly rubbed her jaw where she'd been socked by her pink haired once-friend. _'Who knew that girl could throw such a strong punch?'_

Her thought was interrupted by the appearance of a pink dot among the many heads of spectators. She smiled and stood up waving her hands and calling out her rival's name. "Sakura! Over here!"

The girl in question looked up at her name being called and spotted Ino waving at her. Seeing the empty seats, she quickly picked her way through the many rows and columns of seats before finally reaching her destination. "Sheesh it's like a madhouse today!"

Chouji smiled as he munched on his chips. "It's a special occasion today. What did you expect?"

Sakura shrugged her shoulders and tentatively looked inside her chubby friend's stash of food before picking out some pre-heated popcorn and opened it, taking a handful and handing the rest to Ino to hold.

"By the way," Ino began as she too nommed on the buttered treat, "…if you're here, then Kiba and Shino are also here, right?"

Sakura nodded and swallowed. "Kiba found some seats over there, but since you called me, I had to come over and see what you wanted. Shino should be heading into the ring soon." She looked down at the gathered genin below seeing Shino shuffle forth to join them. "See? There he is."

"I guess everyone's setting up shop over here huh?"

They all turned to see Kiba walking down the aisle steps towards them.

"Oh, hey Kiba!"

He smiled in response to the blonde's greeting in kind. "Yo. Looks like everyone's almost ready."

"We're still waiting on Naruto and Sasuke," Chouji offered.

Kiba smirked. "Ah, if it's those two, I figure it'll be worth the wait. 'Specially for Naruto."

Ino threw him a sidelong glance as he sat down beside them. "Why's everyone talking about Naruto all of a sudden? Ever since the prelims that's all I've heard. 'Naruto' this and 'Naruto' that… it's getting irritating to be honest!"

Kiba laughed at the irony. "Hey, it's a refreshing change from 'Sasuke' this and 'Sasuke' that. Besides, you weren't there for his fight Ino. If you were, you'd understand…" His smirk sharpened. "Naruto's changed a lot since we last knew him."

Ino eyed him skeptically and returned her gaze to the participants in the arena below. Either way, she'd find out the truth of the rumors soon enough.

* * *

Hinata watched as the large stadium ahead of them grow ever larger as they approached it. Despite her desire to travel with her family to the arena, she'd been drawn away by her pseudo-sensei, Rangiku. The woman had offered to walk with her on the way to stadium, though Hinata soon realized it was because Rangiku didn't have a single clue as to its direction. She'd silently laughed at that. Though the buxom blonde's sense of direction around Konoha had become much better since the beginning of the month, she still had a long way to go.

Of course, the woman had spent most of the month getting up to speed on Hinata's progress since her initiation with Gin some weeks before. Naturally, Hinata had practically no experience compared to either Shinigami; her few mere weeks of training couldn't compare to their hundreds of years of experience. To complete the Shinigami Academy in a year was a feat accomplished once, and only once. Knowing that Gin was that lone genius made her realize how hard it must be to grasp the principles of the Shinigami arts. Even so, in her own eyes as well as Rangiku's, she was progressing well. Thanks to her knowledge of chakra, it was easy to understand the basics of her teachings and apply them, though with a different energy.

If she had to be completely honest, the ample-breasted woman was almost as lazy as Kakashi normally was, and that was saying something. She preferred to laze a lot, and it took all of Hinata's polite nudging to get her to train her properly. Even so, after a harsh session of training, the woman always suggested going out and doing something relaxing, much to Hinata's irritation.

She wanted to be strong, and she wouldn't get that way from relaxing and resting, and that made the woman's offers all the worse; the temptation was always there. But Hinata had forced herself to focus solely on her training, and (even if only in her own mind) it was beginning to pay off. She _felt_ stronger, and that made a world of difference.

"Oh wow, it's already so crowded!" Rangiku asked abruptly, bringing the Hyuuga heiress out of her inner musings.

Hinata blinked back to reality and noticed they were walking amongst quite the throng of people. The entrance to the arena was so jam packed, she wondered if they'd even be able to find seats for themselves.

* * *

"I still say you just got knocked on the head too hard," Ino argued.

"I can vouch for him *munch munch.* I saw it myself."

"You have no room to talk. You were K.O.'d too." Ino glared at her teammate in a fashion that clearly showed she didn't appreciate his "help."

"Come on Ino, why don't you just trust us on this one? It's not like we'd lie on purpose," Kiba offered, clearly annoyed by his comrade's stagnant refusal to believe them. Grumpily he turned away from the blonde ditz and eyed the chaotic mass of individuals entering the topmost levels of the stands. Though he was only sparing a passing glance at them, his sharp eyes spotted a familiar, bewildered face among the numerous heads bobbing up and down. Immediately he stood and waved his arms and called out to her. "Hinata! Over here!"

The girl's head snapped up and looked around for the voice, finally spotting him after several seconds. Quickly she and her older, quite _hot_ looking friend (in Kiba's personal opinion) made their way over to them. It wasn't until they were within a dozen meters that Kiba realized that the girl he remembered being Hinata didn't fit with what he was looking at. The Hinata that now approached him was clad in form fitting black pants, which seemed to be a smidge tighter than her normal black pants that he recalled her wearing. Additionally, instead of her customary thick jacket that never seemed to fit with the warm, and often humid weather of Konoha, she wore a white, short-sleeved vest over top a black forearm-length shirt, and was only halfway zipped up. Her hair seemed a bit more unkempt and she'd apparently not cut it since the prelims, as it was noticeably longer than he recalled it being before. But as his eyes roamed her body appraisingly, he found another new thing; a sword.

'_That's _definitely_ new,'_ he thought, curiously trying to look at it without making it too obvious. It was strapped, interestingly, onto the back of her hip, as opposed to the side of her hip or across the back where most wielders preferred it. The sheath was about two feet long, meaning it was probably a kodachi or something close to it, and was of simple design. The hilt on the other hand, was obscured behind her back.

"Ah, Kiba-kun, it's good to see you again! Are any of these seats free?"

The Inuzuka nodded with an affirmative bark from Akamaru on his shoulder. "Yeah, we've been saving these seats for anyone we know. Luckily Chouji got here early and saved 'em."

"Oh, thank you Chouji!" Hinata said with a smile, leaning over to look around Kiba and at the tubby young man.

"MM, no problem," he responded, swallowing a mouthful of powdered donut in the process.

"By the way, you look… different," Kiba remarked. "But definitely in a good way!"

Hinata blinked in surprise at his praise and with a light blush, brushed a few stray strands of hair behind her ears. "Th-thank you…"

"See? I told you they'd like it!"

Kiba blinked at the woman behind Hinata. "Hey, I remember you. Weren't you at the preliminaries?"

Rangiku raised an eyebrow and nodded. "I might have been. What's it matter?"

Kiba's face scrunched up in annoyance and he turned aside. "Just making an observation. Geez, don't bite my head off."

Hinata giggled cutely behind a hand before leaning forward. "Don't worry, she's just embarrassed because she's Gin-sensei's girlfriend."

Kiba's, along with the other three genin's eyes widened at her revelation. "Whoa! Seriously? Your sensei?"

Ino was slightly slack-jawed. "Wow… I wouldn't have thought someone like him would even have a girlfriend."

Rangiku planted her hands on her hips and glared over at the younger female. "Are you saying my boyfriend isn't handsome enough to have a beautiful woman like me as his lover?"

Ino immediately recoiled, and Sakura was thankful she hadn't voiced her own similar thoughts. "Er, n-no! Th-that's not what I meant at all! I-I mean, from what I've seen, h-he's more of the loner type, that's all."

Sakura smiled awkwardly. "I-I think she just means that she didn't think he was the type to be in a relationship. Not that he wouldn't have a cool girlfriend if he did."

Rangiku leaned over and with one hand still on her hip pointed her finger at the nose of the pinkette. "Lover," she corrected, drawing the word out. "I know how you kids define girlfriends these days, and let me tell you we've done things in bed that would make you girls faint." Her eyes glanced down slightly and she smirked. "Not that you'd be able to do the things I can," she said, straightening up and noticeably jutting her chest out proudly, with an equally proud smile.

Both girls recoiled in shock as they suddenly realized how big the woman's breasts were compared to their own, not to mention sporting deep blushes across their faces. "Sh-shut up! We're still growing!" Ino offered in weak defense while Sakura merely hugged her arms around her chest, red faced.

Hinata too blushed slightly, but after a month of such similar comments from the Shinigami officer, either off handed or direct, she'd become at least slightly immune to her teacher's open sexuality. Or she'd tune her out.

Kiba for his part openly laughed. "Hahahaha! I like you already!" he said, smiling at the woman humorously.

Her gaze turned to him and her eyes softened, her smile become much more smooth. "Oh? And what might your name be?" she asked, leaning forward on one knee and letting her cleavage show, "oblivious" to the fact.

To her surprise, the boy didn't seem even the slightest bit affected by her teasing show. "Name's Kiba. Inuzuka Kiba." He gave a smile and extended his hand, which she took with a similar grin.

Ino and Sakura both looked at Kiba in shock. They'd clearly seen the woman's show and had expected the boy to blush, make a move, comment or… well, _something!_ Neither had expected the young man to completely ignore it. _'Could it be… that he's a closet perv?'_

"…And for the record, trying to tease me won't work," he said with a fanged smirk as he sat down. "We Inuzuka have a keen sense of smell, and I can smell your boyfriend on you. To me, that shows you're off limits, and my body reacts accordingly."

Chouji quirked an eyebrow. "And by 'accordingly' you mean 'not at all?'"

Kiba closed his eyes with a smile. "'Zactly."

Rangiku sat down and pouted. "Well that's no fun. Who am I supposed to tease now?"

"Well, you've still got these two over here," he said cocking his head toward Ino and Sakura who glared at him evilly. "And then you've got Hinata too of course."

Hinata sighed and folded her hands between her legs, suppressing a shudder. "Please don't throw me under the bus. I've been dealing with her for a month…"

Rangiku raised an eyebrow at the shy girl and reached over, grabbing an ear and tugging. "Huuh? What do you mean 'dealing with?' I've been sacrificing my relaxation for a whole month trying to train you. If anyone's been 'dealing' with anyone, it's me dealing with you, right?"

Kiba sniggered at them both as Hinata comically pleaded with the woman to release her pained ear. "If you really wanna have fun though, I bet Naruto would give you a great reaction. He's totally serious in a fight, but he's a real goof when he's not."

The buxom woman, temporarily distracted from her student, turned to the Inuzuka as Hinata tenderly cupped her aching ear. "Oh I know! But I haven't seen him since the last test you all did. He's been gone all month, along with Gin and that other guy. What was his name again? Kakashi? Even that Sasuke kid's vanished…"

Kiba gave her a look that resembled sympathy. He could clearly tell she was a more fun-loving, mischief-making kind of person. Not having people to mess with was her equivalent to torture. At that point though Ino joined in. "So… you've been training on your own all month? Don't you… you know, _communicate_ with your team?"

"Yeah, haven't you heard anything from Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked.

"Seems 'n this case havin' three teachers 'vailable did us some good."

They all turned to the new voice with a start. Hinata smiled excitedly. "G-Gin-sensei!"

The silver haired man gave a small wave as he stepped down the stairs next to them. "Hope I ain't intrudin', but I ain't gonna be standin' the 'ntire match."

Hinata quickly shook her head. "No no, not at all! Here, you can have my seat!"

He waved of her offer and parked it in one of the seats in the row behind them. "Nah, I'm good."

Hinata nodded acceptingly and looked at her sensei expectantly. The man simply stared at her for a few silent seconds before laughing. "Haha! Well, I guess the elephant 'n the room is 'where's Naruto', eh?"

Hinata bashfully nodded, but to her surprise, Gin simply shrugged. "Not a clue."

Both Hinata and Rangiku both started in surprise. "B-But weren't you teaching him?"

"W'll yeah I _was._ Sarutobi-san managed to find a guy who knew how to teach Naruto how to use his eyes. Err… I guess it's more accurate to say 'who _best_ knew how.'"

"So then, Naruto has, like, three teachers? Geez! That's totally a stacked deck!" Ino pouted slightly. "That's not really fair to the rest of us."

"Haha! Well, in all honesty, I just kind of watched. He's learned pretty much all he can from me right now. Not much more I can teach him 'till he gets stronger. Besides, Kakashi-san took Sasuke and bolted on week three. No idea where they are."

Ino looked at him with a screwed up expression. "So, let me get this straight: Naruto, Sasuke and Hinata all had private teachers, and none of you have had any contact with each other since you started."

"Yuup~!"

"And you, his teacher, has _NO_ idea where he, or Sasuke is on the day of the _chunin_ exam?"

"…Pretty much."

Sakura's shoulders (and jaw) dropped in astonishment. "What kind of teacher _are_ you? You should at least know where they are!"

Kiba snorted in amusement. "Ha! Let's just be honest and replace 'they' with 'Sasuke-kun'. That's who you both really care about right?"

Sakura blushed and gave him a hard glare, but remained silent. Ino, for her part, defended her point. "It's not _just_ Sasuke. I mean, if even his _sensei_ doesn't know where he is, who does?"

Kiba gave a small shrug. "Valid point." He threw a sidelong look at Gin behind him to see what his response would be.

The silver haired man simply smiled and waved off their concern dismissively. "Don' worry. Naru ain't the type to miss somethin' as big as this. 'Sides, he an' Sasuke'll prolly compete for who gets here first, so they'll both be here 'n time, fer sure."

Hinata turned away, back to the arena and worriedly bit her bottom lip. "I hope so… It's almost time to start…"

Kiba gave her a glance and smirked. "Heh, it'd be a shame if he doesn't show. I was lookin' forward to his fight."

* * *

Sarutobi tapped his foot nervously as he watched the center of the massive arena. There were several reasons that gave him valid reason to be anxious. Firstly, the Kazekage was arriving and would be up momentarily. Secondly, two of the most anticipated fights in the exams would have to be put on hold until the other participants showed up, those being Sasuke and Naruto. As much as he didn't want to disqualify them, rules dictated that if one weren't present by the start of the match, then the other won by default.

Naruto was like a grandchild to him, and he knew for a fact Sasuke would brood for weeks if he lost his chance at being a chunin because he was _late._ Sure there was always the next exam, but to have come so far and to have fallen short because of bad scheduling… He wouldn't be happy about that.

But he was Hokage, and while he may have had final say in such matters, it was also his job to keep it fair for everyone. And speaking of Kage… "My, isn't this a sight, Kazekage-dono."

The robed and masked man stepped forward, his bodyguards following in step. The man merely inclined his head in greeting before taking his seat next to the older Hokage.

"You must be tired from your journey. I know the transit from the Sand to the Leaf can be taxing."

"Not at all. It's a good thing the exams were held here this year. The trip might have been too much for you, Hokage-sama. Perhaps it's time for a Fifth…?"

The wizened old man simply laughed. "Haha! Please don't treat me like some senile old fart. I intend to do this for another five years."

The masked leader simply gave him a look. "…Indeed." He turned to regard the participants below. "Six out of nine… You don't suppose it's a contagious case of cold feet do you?"

Sarutobi sighed. "I hope not…"

* * *

Temari stared at the piece of paper in front of her. The proctor, who'd introduced himself as Genma, was holding a small sheet up to them, detailing the updated matchups for the exam. To her surprise, her match with the Nara boy had been moved up, and that Dosu guy from the Soun wasn't on the roster at all. _'Don't tell me that was the guy Gaara killed earlier…'_ She gave her brother a discreet glance, not wanting to attract his attention; he was in one of _those_ moods at the moment. Even more surprisingly, they were still missing two of the other combatants. _'What are they doing? If Gaara doesn't fight that Sasuke kid, there'll be hell to pay later! Even that other kid, since Gaara showed interest in him too.'_ Now that she thought about it, Gaara had showed interest in the entire team, though the girl had lost in her preliminary match. Probably a good thing too, since Gaara had apparently turned his sights from her.

She eyed the red head, thankful somewhat that Kankuro was standing between them. Despite them being related, the word "family" held no positive significance to Gaara whatsoever. They might as well be "assassins" or "targets to be disposed of." He didn't discriminate between his victims. Many times she and Kankuro had barely managed to avoid fighting him in what she had no doubt would be a life-or-death fight. More likely death and life.

And if the Uchiha didn't show up, Gaara would probably take out his frustration on the first person to rub him the wrong way, which she had just as good a chance of being as anyone else. Knowing her mortality (in regards to her brother) she raised her hand. "Proctor…"

The laid back proctor eyed her for a moment. "Yeah?"

"What happens if someone isn't here for their match?"

The man sighed, nibbling on the stick in his mouth. "If they aren't here by the time of their match they're immediately disqualified, and we'll move onto the next fight."

Gaara's hand twitched slightly, and it didn't escape Temari's watchful eyes. _'Shit, I just made it worse didn't I?'_

"Hopefully those two show up before the Hokage announces the start, or the Uzumaki kid's out instantly." He looked away toward the entrance as he said it, as if he'd come strolling through on cue.

Down the line, the pineapple haired boy gave an audible, almost annoyed sigh. She glanced over. Since she no longer had to wait for the winner of an extra match, she and him would be the last to fight.

"Nervous over there?" she taunted with a sneer. The boy simply looked at her as if he was half asleep.

"You kidding me? Fighting a girl sucks… no matter who wins, I lose. I mean, if I win then whoop-di-do, I beat a girl. Big deal. It's not really a victory. But if I lose then I got beat by a girl, and I can kiss my pride goodbye."

She glared at him. _'Sexist bastard… Just pray you don't kiss your _life_ goodbye.'_

"Wouldn't it be possible to cycle through the matches of those who are here while we wait for them? I doubt the spectators would appreciate two matches being canceled outright," Shino offered, his expression hidden from view, as always.

"That's what I'd do, if it were up to me," the jounin replied, looking up toward the Kage's box. "But only Hokage-sama can make that call." As soon as he said it, he blinked in surprise. There was someone in the audience who caught his eye; someone very familiar. _'That hair… and those clothes… Jiraiya-sama? I heard he was in Tea country. What's he doing here?'_

Temari tried to follow his gaze, but froze when she saw the sudden twitch in her youngest brother's face. Hesitantly, she leaned forward to look past Kankuro. "What's wrong, Gaara?"

What she saw scared her to her core. Gaara's face was morphed into an expression that had no business being on the face of a human. His dark scowl shifted into an even darker smile, an eager, anticipating grin, his eyes dimmed by the shadow of his brow.

"He's here."

She blinked in surprise and quickly looked to the main entryway into the arena. She couldn't see anyone. Apparently, this comment had prompted the other examinees to do that same thing, and a few of them were giving her brother looks, though subtly, knowing better than to irritate him. But she knew better; as paranormal as it seemed, Gaara had a great instinct.

Then she saw him. It was difficult, since her was shrouded in the darkness of the entrance, but as he approached, his silhouette became more and more pronounced. Eventually he made his way into the light, and his form became visible to all.

"Good, the first one came first," Genma sighed in relief.

Temari watched as the boy stepped forward towards them, his sun-kissed hair unkempt and shaggier than she recalled it being in the preliminaries. Even his wardrobe had changed. Instead of the vest he wore before, he now wore only a simple black sleeveless shirt. He wore long, desert camo cargo pants that seemed to ride a bit loose on his waist, which was covered by an orange jacket that was tied around his hips by the sleeves, acting as the sash that held his sword.

She hadn't paid attention before, but his arms were quite muscular, and the shirt fit his form perfectly, (though wasn't skin tight) only serving to show off more of his physique. But aside from his otherwise tough-boy outfit, what she found most interesting what his expression; his eyes were half lidded, like he was too bored to lift them, but the inclination of his whole posture showed, rather than apathy, a countenance of confidence and determination.

"Geez, took you long enough to get here. You'd've been disqualified if it'd been any later," Genma said, though his tone spoke more to his enthusiasm for the match he would no longer have to worry about missing than any real admonition.

The blonde shrugged slightly. "Sorry. I'm here now though, so let's get started."

"Always the eager one. Hold up though, the Hokage'll start things off for us. All you guys have to do is show off for the fans."

* * *

Sarutobi sighed in relief. _'Good… good he made it in time.'_ He could have always just postponed the match until he'd arrived, and gone on with the other matches until then, but he didn't want to show any sort of favoritism if at all possible. _'At least now we can begin in earnest.'_

"Ah, there's one. What about the other? Will we also wait for him?"

Hiruzen smiled at his equal beside him as he stood. "Since the other contestant for the debuting match is here, we can at _least_ start." He made his way forward to the edge of the box and addressed the hushing crowd.

"Thank you everyone for coming to the Hidden Leaf's chunin selection exam! We will now start the main tournament matches between the either participants who made it through the preliminaries. Please stay and watch until the end!" ending with a nod toward Genma.

* * *

The jounin nodded back, turning to the eight genin in front of him. "Alright guys, this is the final test. The arena is different but the rules are the same; there are none. You fight until one of you dies or acknowledges defeat. But if I determin a fight is over, I'll step in and stop it. Got it?"

Their silence and nodding answered well enough.

"Now, the first match. Uzumaki Naruto and Hyuuga Neji. You two stay here. Everyone else head on up to the waiting room."

* * *

"Is… is that really Naruto?" Ino asked in disbelief. "He looks so… so serious…"

Hinata however, in her excitement, completely tuned the Yamanaka out. "He made it! He made in time! Oh thank goodness!"

Gin just laughed. "See? What'd I tell ya?"

"Woooow, Naruto-kun looks like a total hunk in those clothes! I'm kinda jealous of you, Hinata-chan…" Rangiku exclaimed and then pouted.

Gin blinked from behind his woman. "…Oi… I'm sitting right here y'know…"

"Oh! Hi honey! I didn't see you there!"

Gin sweat-dropped. "…Somehow, that's just ain't plausible…"

"S-sugoi… Naruto looks really strong. And his expression looks kind of scary…" Sakura commented.

Ino agreed. "I know, right? That kind of face looks completely wrong on him."

Kiba smirked. "Heh, coming in late and all badass looking… The guy's got balls."

Hinata's face brightened up and she smiled down at the boy below her. _'Naruto… really _does_ look attractive in that… I can see all of his muscles…'_ She blushed and looked over at Kiba, wanting to retort and say "I know for a fact he has balls, and they're huge," but realized that would be quite self-incriminating. But as much as she wanted to brag about her Naruto, she realized that probably wasn't something she should be bragging about. Blushing again at the memory of the hot springs they'd shared on their way back from Wave, she shook her head in an attempt to clear it. Those were thoughts for another time.

She looked down at his calm, collected expression and couldn't help but remember what Rangiku had told her after she got out of the hospital; the way Naruto had proclaimed his intentions and threatened Neji._ 'You're taking this so seriously…'_ Even if she told him to go easy on her cousin, she knew it would be wasted breath. Naruto was out for revenge, and she knew she had no reason, nor right to stop him. Even if he did love her, she knew she shouldn't get between a hunter and its prey, so she settled for a simple, quiet,"good luck, Naruto-kun," and waited for the match to get underway.

* * *

Hiashi normally was calm and collected, but he couldn't deny a sense of excitement inside him. Finally, the day he'd been looking forward to for a month was here at last. He was sitting in a reserved section for the Hyuuga clan. As they had agreed, the rest of the Hyuuga eldership was now sitting around him, waiting to be impressed. Beside him, his youngest daughter sat, quietly watching as the genin below left the arena, save for two.

"So, that's him?" she asked, looking pointedly at the blonde.

Hiashi nodded. "Yes, that's the boy your sister will marry."

Her eyes narrowed at that, inspecting the boy with a renewed cynicism. "He doesn't look like much."

Hiashi almost smirked. "Hanabi, watch carefully. Today you'll a power beyond that of even the Hyuuga, or the Uchiha."

His words did not fall on deaf ears. Many of those around him heard it, and they could only wonder what it was he was holding back.

"...What is it?"

"Heh, you'll see soon enough."

* * *

"So you finally showed. I was worried you'd cop out."

Naruto turned and eyed the Hyuuga. "It took me a bit, but I completed that jutsu I needed."

"Is that so? And what might this jutsu entail?"

Naruto's expression didn't change. "Neji, I'll say this now; I'm going to crush you with everything I have. If you don't want to die, then at least try and defend yourself."

Neji flinched at his words, activating his Byakugan by instinct. _'His expression… He's completely confident. The fool.'_

Genma sighed and took a few safe steps back, not wanting to get caught in the crossfire of what was building up to be a heated fight. "Well, if you're both ready, then let the first match between Hyuuga Neji and Uzumaki Naruto begin!"

Neither moved; a surprise to Neji. Naruto looked like he was holding it in, so he'd expected him to rush in immediately. "You look tense. Is it because you're still mad over the preliminaries?"

Naruto was silent for several seconds before he finally shrugged. "I can't say I'm really all that mad, since she's healed since then. However, I swore to make her a world where she won't have to cry or be afraid, and I aim to do just that." He lifted his head. And for the first time that day, his Rinnegan pulsed with energy, glowing an ethereal purple. "You however, are an obstacle to that world. All obstacles will be removed."

Neji smirked as he entered his jyuuken stance. "Then come. 'Remove' me."

In response, Naruto clapped his hands together, and the air around him distorted slightly before returning to normal. Neji only frowned, confused. Even with his Byakugan, he saw no chakra in the air that could account for the distortion, though he could see Naruto's body light up, chakra flowing readily throughout his tenketsu. _'That's quite a bit of chakra to be constantly running it, though to be fair, he's got the largest chakra system I've ever seen before. I suppose he can afford it.'_

"Whatever you're going to do, you should do it now."

Naruto's eye narrowed as he drew his small sword, walking calmly forward, the blade at his side. "I said I'd crush you with everything I have, and I mean to. I hope you realize that."

"I'm well aware of your intentions," he replied as he rushed forward, thrusting a palm forward. Naruto quickly raised the flat end of the blade up to block the strike that would have hit his neck. But Neji had the advantage in that he could use both hands to attack, while Naruto could only use one.

Naruto took the counter strike without so much as a flinch, knocking the arm away while swinging the blade at his opponent. Neji quickly stepped back to dodge the quick, stabbing strikes, pulling out a kunai to better deflect the attacks. As much as Neji wanted to take advantage of both of his hands, he knew a blade could only be fought with another blade. Though even so, he was still hitting the blonde between attacks. Naruto was doing his best to shrug off his attacks on his vitals, but Neji knew he wouldn't be able to keep that up; eventually he'd make a mistake and open himself up to a crippling strike.

Slashing with his kunai, Neji managed to catch his opponent's blade and force it still, and with the other hand thrust forward and open-palmed him in the chest, sending him sliding back. _'Got him hard that time.'_

Naruto coughed and gripped his chest gently, measuring his breaths carefully. After a few seconds though, to Neji's surprise, he straightened back up and cracked his neck, flipping his fingers in _come on_ gesture.

"Again."

Neji frowned at him. "Brazenness now? I know that had to hurt you more than your showing."

Naruto simply repeated his command. "_Again._"

The Hyuuga's eyes narrowed and he ran back in. They continued their dance for several minutes, neither gaining any significant advantage over the other, until at last they separated again.

Naruto slid to a stop and eyed his opponent carefully, even as Neji did the same. After a few seconds, he looked down at his sword, and to the surprise of Neji, as well as most of the crowd, _sheathed _it.

* * *

Ino blinked in surprise. "W-what's he doing? Why's he sheathing his sword?"

Hinata shook her head. "I… I don't know…"

TenTen was inclined to wonder the same thing. _'That sword was the only thing keeping Neji from using both hands fully for jyuuken. Without it, Naruto will be at a severe disadvantage now.'_

* * *

"Why?"

Naruto looked over at his opponent. "Why what?"

"Why would you put it away? Are you _that_ confident in your own skills that you'd put your weapon away?"

For the first time that day, Neji saw Naruto smirk. "Actually, I am, yeah." And with those words, he widened his stance and brought his arms to his sides, hands balled into fists and eyes narrowed. "I ain't holding back from here on."

Neji blinked before narrowing his eyes as well. But that blink cost him, as in the next instant, Naruto was on top of him throwing a flurry of punches his way. Neji barely had time to react as one of the incoming fists nearly grazed his jaw.

Kiba leaned forward in his seat in sheer astonishment. "Naruto you idiot! Hand-to hand is no good with him! What is he thinking?"

"It's a challenge."

They all turned to Gin, wondering what he meant. "What do you mean, 'challenge?'"

"Neji's obviously got a monopoly on melee combat, but that's _why_ he's goin' into his range. He's saying 'here, I'll fight on your terms, and I'll still win.'"

"But you just admitted that Neji's got better taijutsu skills," Sakura said, clearly confused.

Gin nodded. "He prolly does. But Naruto apparently believes he can win regardless. So either he's stupidly takin' a risk, or he's got an ace up his sleeve."

Naruto carefully weaved his way throw Neji's offences, picking and choosing the openings to take advantage of, though few they might be.

Neji though, couldn't help but wonder why the blonde wasn't using the abilities he'd used in the preliminaries. _'Even though I trained with TenTen to better defend against his telekinesis, he hasn't even tried to use it yet, from what I can tell.'_ He slapped a punch away, advancing a step forward, trying to push Naruto back. To his surprise though, instead of retreating, Naruto _also_ advanced, taking a step forward.

In an instant, both of his arms were caught, locked into place by… _four of Naruto's?_

"What?"

Naruto smirked evilly at the Hyuuga's reaction. He'd been waiting for this. The two new arms that now sprouted from his shoulders were gripping Neji's biceps while his two original hands were gripping his wrists. "That's not all either!"

Neji's eyes widened in total shock and yet _another_ pair of arms surged out of Naruto's shoulders. Now with a total of _six_ arms, in the back of his mind, Neji realized why Naruto was wearing a sleeveless shirt; if it had been anything else, its sleeves would have been torn to shreds.

* * *

Hitori couldn't believe what his eyes were seeing. "Hiashi… what the hell _is_ that?"

The Hyuuga clan leader simply smiled. "Keep watching. It's only going to get better." He looked to his right and saw Hanabi, her incomplete Byakugan active as she watched. Her limbs were stiff, either with surprise or anticipation. He couldn't tell.

* * *

Naruto grinned. "Now the real show starts."

Neji's eyes narrowed dangerously at him before his Byakugan spotted what it was the blonde was talking about. The back two unoccupied hands reach behind him and formed a unique seal.

"**Kage bunshin no Jutsu.**"

Neji's eyes widened as half a dozen duplicates of Naruto (minus the six arms) appeared around them. He growled before using his immobilized arms as leverage and drop kicking the hex-armed blonde in the chest, effectively freeing himself. He quickly stood as the other Naruto's rushed forward, each one with a raised fist.

Neji took a calming breath and prepared himself.

The clones closed in and slammed their fists down on the Hyuuga prodigy.

* * *

"He got him!" Ino cheered excitedly.

However, Hinata couldn't help a bad feeling shudder down her spine. Something was wrong.

TenTen smiled, knowing what was coming next. _'Now come's Neji's true power…!'_

* * *

One of the Naruto clones blinked as it examined its own hand. It'd stopped several centimeters from the target's body. Neji only smirked. "**Hakkeshō, Kaiten!**"

The Naruto clones' eyes widened as Neji suddenly twisted his hips and spun, a wave of chakra erupting from his body. The clones were all blown back, dispelling as they landed on the ground.

Naruto's eyes narrowed. "Hakkeshō Kaiten… I've heard of that ability before, though I was told that it was only a technique passed down to the heir of the main family."

Neji smirked. "It is. I learned it naturally."

Naruto shrugged as his middle right arm began to morph. "Then, naturally, you should be able to defend against this, right?"

Neji blinked in surprise as the limb shifted, skin peeled back like panels and revealed, to his surprise, mechanical insides. Before he had time to speak, a trio of metal capped cylinders extended from the arm, launching from it in a burst of flames. He quickly dodged out of the way, but he quickly saw them come back around from multiple vectors. _'Guided missiles?'_

He speedily ejected more chakra out of his body and spun again as the missiles honed in on him. They exploded on contact with the rotating chakra sphere, the impacts of which could be clearly felt by the Hyuuga prodigy. _'What the hell kind of jutsu is that? Growing extra arms is one thing all together, but firing explosive weapons too? Just what is he?'_

Naruto smiled as Neji ended the rotation and stood amidst the smoke and dust. "So it even blocks those, huh? Though, it looks like it only blocks the explosive force; you'll still feel the vibrations of them via displaced air and sound." He allowed himself a chuckle. "I hope you don't get dizzy."

Neji took a calming breath and lowered his stance. "Mock me all you want. I've already won."

Naruto's joviality vanished instantly, replaced by a narrow-eyed scowl. "Oh really?"

Neji smirked. "You're in range."

Naruto tensed instinctively. He didn't like the sound of that. "…Of?"

Neji simply grinned and slid forward, rotating as he did… right under Naruto's raised arms.

"Wha-?"

"**Jūkenpō… Hakke, Rokujūyon Shō!**"

His hands shot out and slammed fingers-first into Naruto's chest, sending him staggering back.

"Ni shō! Yon shō!"

Naruto swung with his arms and slammed into the ground, but Neji spun away. "Hachi shō! Jūroku shō!"

Naruto growled and two of his hands sprouted long, curved wrist blades. Whirling around, he swung his arms in a large sweeping form, hoping to catch the more nimble Neji. But the Hyuuga simply ducked under and struck at them. "Sanjūni shō!"

Naruto grunted in pain, stumbling backward. Neji spotted his loss of footing and pressed his advantage intent on ending it with the last set. You're finished. Rokujūyon shō!"

Naruto's cry of pain was followed by a crimson spurt of blood from his mouth. The six arms shuddered for a moment before receding back into his body. "Guah!" His knees hit the ground hard, his now single right arm clutching painfully at his chest. "Wh… wha… what was… that?"

"Rokujūyon Shō. It's a technique used exclusively by the main family to seal off the several major tenketsu in the human body, preventing any and all chakra use." The Hyuuga smirked victoriously down at his opponent. "Your chakra system is now completely blocked off; all of the intersecting pathways have been sealed."

* * *

Hinata cried at her love's collapse. "Naruto!"

"No way… the Hyuuga can really seal off all of a person's chakra system?" Kiba wondered aloud in awe. "That's unreal…!"

"So, Naruto's chakra is completely blocked off now?" Sakura asked, still trying to wrap her head around the idea of having absolutely no access to chakra.

Gin nodded, his face growing noticeably darker. "…'Seems so."

"Not only that, but he also probably hit a lot of critical points on his body," Ino observed. "Naruto must be in a lot of pain too."

"Damn! That's a dirty way of fighting; hitting the internal organs of an enemy, which can't be strengthened even by training…! How are you supposed to defend against that?" Kiba asked, his hands gripping the backs of the seats in front of him tightly.

They all were wondering the same thing, but none of them expected the answer to come to them. "You can't," came a new, much older sounding voice. They all turned to face the speaker, who happened to be walking down the stairs toward them. "That's why the Hyuuga are so dangerous. Even if you dodge an attack physically, your organs will still be taken out."

Gin's head snapped back in recognition. "…Jiraiya-dono..."

The old Sannin smiled and waved at him. "Yo! Got a seat? I don't want to miss the rest of the fight."

Quickly finding a seat beside them, Sakura spoke up again. "Rest of the fight? But the match is pretty much over… isn't it? I mean, you even said just now that even dodging can be dangerous, and Naruto got hit head on."

Jiraiya nodded. "That's right. Though, it might have worked if it had been anyone _other_ than Naruto."

They all blinked in surprise at his words. "…What do you mean…?" Ino hesitantly asked.

Jiraiya simply smiled and giggled. "Why do you think he was so late? When he proposed coming up with an ability to fight against the Hyuuga's infamous jyuuken, I thought he was crazy! But after a month of training…" he trailed off, but his smile didn't fade.

"Wait, so _you_ trained with Naruto this past month?" Kiba asked in surprise.

The white haired man nodded again. "Mhm, but regardless, keep your eyes on the fight; you won't want to miss the look on that kid's face when it happens."

Hinata hesitantly looked back at the arena, while also warily eyeing the older man carefully. "…When… _what_ happens…?"

He turned to face her and smirked. "Oh, you must be Hinata-chan, right? Wow, I guess the brat really _wasn't_ exaggerating when he said you were beautiful!"

Hinata immediately blushed a slight shade of red and she turned away. "H-he s-s-said that…?"

The pervy hermit laughed heartily at her reaction. "Hahahahaha! Even his description of your mannerisms was spot on! I can see why he's so taken with you too. But regardless, you're a Hyuuga, right? Use your Byakugan on Naruto. You might see something interesting…"

Hinata blushed again, realizing that Naruto had bragged about her to this man, which was a surprise since Naruto never openly spoke about their relationship unless he was backed into a corner. The fact that he told this man so much information about her showed that Naruto thought of him as highly trustworthy. Nodding slightly, she activated her Kekkei Genkai and focused in on her boyfriend. She examined him for several seconds before blinking in confusion. What was the man trying to get her to see? There was nothing wrong with him…

Then she gasped.

* * *

Neji blinked as the blonde slowly stood, the effort he put into regaining his balance easily noticeable.

"Ugh… fuck! That hurt even more than I thought…! Even though I braced for it, and trained to ignore the pain of jyuuken…"

Neji snorted. "If you trained against jyuuken then you're a fool who wasyed his time.. Jyuuken can't be dodged or defended against. Whoever 'taught' you should have known that."

Naruto smirked, his eyes raising to meet Neji's. "I know, and he did."

The Hyuuga blinked again in surprise. "Then why would you fight this meaningless and predictable battle?"

Naruto slowly straightened, his right hand holding his gut in pain, and the other wiping the blood from his chin. "He told me that very thing; that if I was going to fight you, I'd need to find a way to combat jyuuken."

"And? Surely _'hold his arms down to keep him from using it'_ wasn't you're grand plan."

Naurto chuckled. "Hehe, naw… The way I saw it, if it can't be dodged, then I won't dodge. If it can't be blocked, then I won't block. I'll just take the attack head on!"

Neji shook his head instinctively in disappointment. "Such foolishness… To accept my attacks is tantamount to defeat; what can you hope to do without chakra?"

His only answer was a darker, more amused chuckle from his opponent, before the blonde straightened fully and his right arm fell to his side. "'Without chakra…?' The fuck're you talkin' about?"

With a sudden flare of light, chakra lit up his skin and body with its blue sheen, clearly visible to even those without a Byakugan. "I've got all the chakra I need right here!"

To say Neji was shocked was to say the ocean was wet; a massive understatement.

His Byakugan reactivating on instinct, he couldn't believe what he was seeing. Despite his having sealed sixty-four of his tenketsu, which was enough to shut down even an elephant's chakra system… well, if they had one anyway. And despite knowing he'd done just that, his tenketsu were pulsing bright with life and energy, far from being closed off in any sense of the words.

"I-Impossible! That shouldn't be possible! I shut them! I know I hit every one of them!" His eyes were wide and his voice loud with enraged surprise.

Naruto smirked as his chakra continued to mount. "Hehe, shocked the hell outta you didn't it? That's ok though; it did me too. I didn't spend the past thirty days sitting on my ass. I did my homework." He raised his head to look into the stands, his eyes immediately finding the familiar red and white colors of his sannin instructor, and immediately after spotted the distance midnight blue sheen of his love's hair. He smirked.

"You didn't think I'd know nothing about your fighting style did you? I mean, I have the princess of your clan on my team! I'd obviously have extensive knowledge of your techniques. However, no matter what I did, I couldn't figure out a way to defend against your jyuuken. That is until I realized something important…"

His smile dimmed, as did his eyes, and before Neji could blink he was flat on his back, Naruto's hand slammed against his face. "…without chakra you're jyuuken's useless!"

Neji's eyes widened as he saw, no… _felt_ his power drain from him. _'M-my strength...! No… he couldn't be…!'_

With a kick to the gut, he sent the blonde flying away from him and he quickly scrambled away. "You… don't tell me you…!"

"That's right," Naruto said, smiling as he stood up again, despite the pain in his stomach. "I've been draining the chakra out of every one of your attacks."

The Hyuuga growled deeply. "…You bastard… When did you learn a technique like that? And earlier, that form from before…!"

Naruto groaned and cocked his head to the side, cracking it. "I wouldn't say 'learned.' More like, 'discovered.'" He rubbed his neck, massaging it with his hand. "I figured you'd train to defend against my Shinra Tensei somehow, and I didn't think I'd be able to use it in this fight. So I knew I had to find some other way to fight you. That form is just something that I discovered during training two weeks ago. I actually discovered the ability to absorb chakra after training to resist and disperse incoming chakra attacks."

Ino turned to the older man in her row confusedly. "Um, what's he talking about? 'Resist and disperse chakra?'"

Jiraiya smiled with a sigh and obliged her. "Well, it's a pretty advanced concept, so I'm not surprised you're unfamiliar with it. You see, there are people out there who are capable of using chakra to effectively attack other people, the Hyuuga being prime examples of this. High level chunin and jonin are taught to resist those kind of attacks by using their own chakra to shield against the attack, blunt it, and try and disperse it around the impact point, dulling the intensity of the attack."

After a few seconds, Ino turned to face the arena again. "I see… I still don't really understand it though."

Jiraiya laughed jovially. "Hahaha! Well, it's a very difficult type of training, and in theory is capable of reducing damage from chakra by at least five percent."

"Just five percent?" Sakura asked, astonished that an intense training regime would only produce such small results.

"I know it doesn't sound like much, and it really isn't. But if that five percent is what could make the difference between life or death, you'd be glad to have it." He turned to regard her. "Naruto was barely able to blunt my attacks by even two percent, until my attacks suddenly stopped having any effect on him at all."

He smiled at the memory. "Saying that he's absorbing chakra however, wouldn't be exactly correct, though to the naked eye, that's what it looks like. In reality he's actually making a field around him that breaks down incoming chakra, such as the Hyuuga's chakra-powered jyuuken, and then reduces it to easily absorbable chakra particles. Once he absorbs it, it's immediately expelled in the form of the anti-chakra barrier that breaks down even more chakra."

"So… it's like he's using his opponent's chakra as a battery to keep the shield going," Rangiku mused. Fundamentally, she knew the difference between reiatsu and chakra, but it was still difficult to differentiate.

"Yes except it's not a shield, but a _field._" He raised a finger as if to make a point. "A shield can only block in a single direction, and can be pierced from the _inside._ Naruto's ability isn't a shield, but an area around him where chakra formations can't exist."

"Hey hey, if I'm hearing you right, then that means Naruto's own chakra is susceptible to that," Kiba exclaimed worriedly. "That's kind of a double-edged sword isn't it?"

Jiraiya smirked at the Inuzuka. "Heh, despite your looks, you're pretty bright kid."

Kiba's forehead instantly produced an annoyed tick mark. "…Teme…!"

Jiraiya quickly continued before the brown haired boy tried leaping over three people to get to him. "You're right; as long as he keeps the ability active, Naruto can't use any other techniques. But it also has a unique strength…" He smirked knowingly. "If he gets in range, Naruto can literally break down the chakra inside you and keep you from using any of it."

"So, it's the perfect weapon against Neji… or any Hyuuga really,"Ino realized.

"What about that other ability? How'd he get those extra arms and explosives?"

Jiraiya was silent for several seconds before he answered. "Even I don't know what that is. All I can figure is that it's an ability given by the Rinnegan. Beyond that I can't say." His gaze narrowed. "After all, this is the first time I've seen it too."

* * *

"Regardless, if that's all you have, then you've got zero chance of beating me," Naruto said mater-of-factly. "Jyuuken is virtually useless against me, so unless you have some sort of secret weapon that's _not_ chakra related, you're pretty much fucked."

He grinned darkly again eyeing the Hyuuga with a glint of amusement. "And I do take great satisfaction in saying that."

Neji growled. "Hmph, you can spout off whatever you want, but if you forget, as soon as I hit you, your extra arms remerged with your body."

"Oh yeah, that…" Naruto shrugged casually. "Would you believe me if I said I was lulling you into a false sense of security?"

"Not really. What's the point? Even if that was your plan, you've done a poor job taking advantage of it."

Naruto's response was several seconds of silence, his eyes narrowing ever so slightly. "…You really are dense aren't you?"

"What?"

The Rinnegan user sighed deeply. "I told you before the match even started. 'I'm going to crush you with everything I have' is what I said. Naturally that means that I want to make sure you know how powerless you are before I beat your ass."

Neji smirked. "Curious, I don't feel powerless."

Naruto's face suddenly split into a grin. "That's weird…"

In a blink, he was mere inches from the Hyuuga, his maddening smile right in Neji's face. "…because you really, _really_ should."

Neji's eyes shot open as the blonde's fist rose from his side and into his gut with a satisfying crunch. The pale-eyed boy's entire body lurched backward from the force, blood spewing from his mouth.

But Naruto's victory vanished with a _poof_ as a cloud of smoke obscured his vision, and that shattered remains of a replacement log scattered across the ground, the splinters of which were now embedded in the blonde's knuckles. _'Kawarimi?'_

Neji smirked as he reappeared directly behind his opponent, his two pronged fingers poised to strike him right in his blind spot. _'With this, it's over!'_ He lunged forward, stabbing his arm forward to strike the primary nervous cortex of his spine.

He was fortunate that he'd expected Naruto's unexpected behavior. It was one of the things he'd trained for. Naruto was well known for his unpredictability throughout the village, and he knew that it would pop up in his fighting. All he had to do was identify when that would be, counter it, and _bam_, one-hit K.O. After all, no one can dodge a strike to their blind spot.

All was according to plan; Naruto had no idea what was coming…

…or did he?

Neji's eyes widened as the blonde suddenly whirled, extra arms surging back out of his right side and deflecting his well-timed strike, managing to grasp his outstretched arms in the process. "Wha-?"

He saw Naruto smirk only a second before his vision abruptly shifted, followed by a cracking pain in his jaw as he was backhanded away with the extra arm on Naruto's shoulder.

He went skidding across the ground, sliding back to his feet justbefore Naruto appeared in the air above him, palm aimed down towards him. Neji immediately knew what was going to happen. "Shi-!"

"**Shinra Tensei!**"

The arena burst into clouds of dust as debris immediately kicked up into the air from the impact zone. The numerous spectators all leaned forward in their seats, eager to see what happened. The displaced air _whooshed_ around them, carrying dust and dirt from the arena floor with it, obscuring any vision they might have otherwise had. The excited murmurings and shouting of various observers rose above the den; everyone wanted to know who won the match!

As the dust settled, one lone figure stood out to the crowd, though in all likelihood, it was mosly because of the bright yellow color of his hair.

Naruto stood, clearly victorious over the battered Neji who now lay in a crater. The sudden shout of his name from the crowd was echoed by others as they identified him as the one standing.

Genma quickly trotted over to get a better look, knowing it was up to him whether or not the fight would continue. What he saw was a bloody, but barely conscious Neji, struggling to move his limbs. After several failed attempts, he settled for simply growling. "…Why?"

Naruto blinked. "Why what?"

"Why _everything!_ Why are you so strong? Why are you so adamant on getting in my way? Why aren't you sympathetic to me? Why can't you understand my point of view? _WHY?_"

Naruto was silent. He eyed the Hyuuga pitifully for several long moments before speaking. "You mean the incident ten years ago…" he stated more than asked. He'd learned all about Neji's history of hatred toward the Main family from Hinata, which she'd been hesitant to tell him. In the end, it was a good thing she had.

"Don't get me wrong, I _am_ sympathetic to you. _But…_" he gave the Hyuuga a fixed glare. "You're taking it out on the wrong people."

Neji's clenched teeth ground together as he struggled to rise again. "'Wrong people?' I'm accusing the '_wrong_ people?' Don't fucking kid with me…!" He slowly managed to pull his feet under him and began to stand.

"If the Main family isn't to blame, than who is? Humanity? Fate? God? Who the hell do you think you are, telling me who I can and can't blame?" A small trickle of blood oozed from the corner of his mouth, testament to how hard he was clenching it. Back on his feet, it was clear that Neji was furious. "What right does an outsider like you have to tell me what's right? You're just a cast away; a nobody; a forgotten child with no family! No bloodline, no ancestry, no right to power! A worthless, purposeless scum who holds no right to life!"

Hiashi's eyes narrowed. He knew it was bad, but he had no idea Neji's animosity ran _this_ deep. _'He's completely snapped…'_

Despite his beaten body, Neji rushed forward with all his might. "Useless clutter like you should just disappear!"

Naruto stood his ground, his gaze cold as ice. "You're right…"

He raised his hands, an aura of calm acknowledgment settling about him. "…I'm just worthless, forgettable trash…"

Neji's eyes widened as his feet suddenly latched to the ground. A quick look down revealed a pair of hands emerging through the ground and wrapped around his ankles. Those hands were followed by a dirtied, leering gaze from another copy of the blonde in front of him. _'When did he-?'_

"**Hado no Gojūhachi, Tenran**."

He didn't have time to finish his thought before a spiraling vortex slammed into him with such force that it ripped his feet free of the hands that held them, sending him flying back into the arena wall with a resounding crash. Dust and concrete exploded from the point of impact, symbolizing just how hard he'd been hit.

"…However, I'm the worthless, forgettable trash who beat your ass. And that's memorable."

Genma shielded his eyes as the wind whipped by him, stinging his eyes from the intensity. "Ngh…! Shit kid…" He trailed off as the wind died down and he realized he had a job to do. _'Geez, I wonder if there's even anything left…'_ An exaggerated thought, but it _was_ quite the finisher. _'He's gotta have some good elemental manipulation to use a technique like that. Kid's got some serious power behind him.'_

He stepped up to the unmoving body and stooped to examine him. It didn't take a genius to realize he wasn't going to wake up any time soon. "Tch… He's out cold. I wonder if he'll remember anything about today after that," he said with a smirk, half way admonishing the blonde combatant before turning to address the crowd.

"Winner by knock out, Uzumaki Naruto!"

* * *

"Holy crap, he won!" Ino said, nearly rising out of her seat.

Sakura couldn't help but agree. "W-wow, Naruto's… strong…!"

Kiba laughed victoriously. "See? What'd I tell you? I knew he was going to win!"

Jiraiya smiled trusting that the outcome would be in Naruto's favor. "That boy's going to be something else when he gets older. His growth is almost virtually limitless after all."

Gin grinned knowingly behind them. "Hehe, you're just now figurin' that out?" he questioned rhetorically before turning to the dark haired female beside his woman. Before he could say anything however, he was startled when Hinata literally leapt to her feet cheering. "He did it! He did it! I knew he could!"

The light of joy in her eyes was so bright they could almost see it, and her smile stretched from ear to ear. Rangiku smiled at her reaction, finding it a bit humorous. But before she could comment (likely with a snide or teasing goad) they were surprised by the eerily familiar voice of a young boy two rows seats behind them.

"Well, it's nice to see most of you had faith in me…"

They all turned to address the speaker. The voice came from a young man, clad in tan shorts and a blue shirt and topped with a flat-bill ball cap. He grinned as he tipped the bill of the hat up, revealing his face.

If the triple whisker birthmarks weren't enough, the multi-ringed purple eyes were a dead giveaway.

"Naruto?"

He grinned at their reactions, flipping his two fingers in a salute-wave. "Yo!"

* * *

"Hiashi… that power… those eyes…! Impossible!"

Though spoken by one person, it was a thought shared by every Hyuuga around them.

"That ringed pattern… it couldn't possibly be…!"

Hiashi smirked. "It is. I've confirmed it myself. A one-hundred percent genuine pair of fabled eyes."

Hitori was in utter disbelief. "We've all heard the stories but… I never thought they were real." His Byakugan eyes were wide and active, no doubt zooming in to get a better look.

"I don't get it father, what's so special about him?" came Hanabi's confused voice from beside Hiashi.

"Well, you're still young so I don't suppose you completely understand. Take a good look at his eyes."

He watched as she brought her hands together and activated her Byakugan. After a few seconds she spoke. "…They're weird…"

Hiashi almost laughed a little. "That's a normal reaction I guess, even I feel a little trepidation when I think of what kind of shinobi he could turn into."

Hanabi blinked in surprise, looking at him disbelievingly. "Even you father?"

Hiashi nodded. "Even me. In this world there exists three powerful eye abilities; the Byakugan of the Hyuuga, the Sharingan of the Uchiha, and the Rinnegan. Both the Uchiha and the Hyuuga are famed for possessing these powerful abilities, and are feared because of it."

"But… what clan has the other one then? You said the Hyuuga and the Uchiha, but that's only two. Who's the third?"

Hiashi was silent for several moments, taking his time to choose his words. "It's a near mythical ability that hasn't been seen in generations. Many liken it to a fictional legend, even though it's still taught in some classes. However, considering the current circumstances…" He turned and raised his head, settling back into his seat. "…it would be accurate to say that it belongs exclusively to the Uzumaki family."

He gave a look to his daughter. "Hanabi, you know that boy's name right? Say it aloud."

The young girl turned from her father, gazing down at the blonde in the center of the arena. "…Uzumaki… Naruto…"

* * *

**A/N: And there's chapter fifteen! I hope you all liked it! If you didn't well, cool story bro. I cut it short on purpose since I'm bordering on fifty pages here. Nope, actually, just passed it. I'm sure you wouldn't want to be reading an eighty page chapter for the whole Third Exam Arc. Would prolly be more actually… Anyway, I know I didn't really reconcile Neji and Naruto like most authors do, and that was purposeful, since so many make Naruto's influence instant or whatever. I don't like that. No one is changed at the tip of a hat, and it will be a while before Neji comes around, but not too long. **

**I HAD planned on Naruto using… a certain jutsu for his exam, but I ran out of room to use it without just throwing it in there. I'll hopefully manage to get it used next chapter, but no promises. It may be that It won't even be used in Part One. Dunno, we'll have to see.**

**Not much else to say, I seem to have included everything I wanted to in the preface. Oh well. Leave a nice long review for me on your way out! :3**


	16. Chapter 16: Frontlines of War

**A/N: ****HORRY FAKKK! How long's it fuckin' been my friends, followers and fellow Fanfiction cultists? Too long? Well I should say! Over a year ago I got on Fanfiction and uploaded chapter 15 of Konoha's Silver Shinobi. Then, I got working on chapter 16, and let me tell you it fucking SUCKED. Between school, gaming (which is more distracting that I'd like to let on), work, and now school _again_, my free time has been critically limited to the time I'd otherwise be spending playing games. Regardless, I'm happy to announce that now, today, this very moment, chapter sixteen is a go! Jump up and clap hands with glee!**

**I'll be honest, this chapter made me want to puke, since I didn't want to do any of it, but I knew I had to to progress the storyline. And I know some of you might say "Well if you didn't like it you could have just made stuff up," but for me that's a cheap way out. I'm sticking to my guns as far as storyline and continuity. And unfortunately, you get situations like this where I don't like splitting chapters up, and I don't like doing the chapter at all. You all know I've had this problem before, but this is the worst I've ever had it. Oh well, it should be over now. **

**To make up for how long the wait was, you get a WHOPPING FIFTY PAGE chapter to dig your literary fangs into!**

**Now, should I add anything more about my life? You probably want to get onto the story don't you? WELL TOO BAD! Here's what's been going on with me lately. **

**Well, last year I was still at community college, and during the summer I got a job at a Honda Packaging Plant in Ohio. That job sucked, since it was second shift, but it could have been worse. Much worse. And then after that I get shipped up to Huntington Indiana at Huntington University. Fun times, since it's my first time leaving away from my family, but we'll see how long it takes me before I break down and cry :( **

**That's my time away from you guys in a miniscule nutshell.**

**Now then, let me do you all a service and thank all the many fans who took time out of their day to comment on my humble story: **ElfenSky, Pyromania101, baynard, NorthSouthGorem, Fangking2, Chewie Cookies, Quick-n-Popular, Leaf Ranger, reven228, Apocalyptian Scribe, Freal17, Rake1810, irnzenmonk, Hee-Ho Master, Impstar, Hypothetical Spiritual Entity, PokeNarutoDbzguy, Culebra del Sol, Skelo, RisingSolstice, cmcwiki, OBSERVER01, Uraharaisgod, unrealwarfang, Godschildtweety, lxde, OldMasterSaru, KageIchimaruNamikaze, Kage no hon'no, MonkHerrick, pucflek, Theunfunny9, Pure-chan, ImagineBreaker7, ShinigamiMaster, Zexs, Ethyrin Kairos, SelenaWolf, Apocalypse Legionaire, NaruHinaInfinity, master1941, Ten no kaitou, Shisarakagem, DarkPirateKing69, Dis Lexic, Agrond, Kittens Kat, blasterdog, Wolf1989, erching, Drakius Marethyu Damnati, darkkrt, **and the three** Guest **reviewers. Thanks for your patience and your criticisms. They are much appreciated and loved!**

**Some final notes: **

**1) Apparently **Brown Phantom **is** **running a "Who is the Best Naruto Fanfic Author on this site?" pole, AND I'M NOT ON IT! However, he's told me that you are allowed "write ins" meaning you can send him a PM saying who you want to vote for. So far, I have (drum-role please) TWO votes! So now I know that there is at least one person other than myself who likes my work :') So if you think I'm work voting for, head over to **Brown Phantom**'s profile and send him a short PM. Otherwise, disregard this message :)**

**2) If there's anyone out there who wants to make some or maybe even fund some artwork for this story, or any of my other stories, please by all means go ahead; you don't need my consent! Just tell me where the art is so I can see it :D**

**3) Speaking of poles, if you can quickly go to my profile and vote on the poll, that'd be awesome! It's super helpful! **

**Now that that's over, I'm sure you all have some intense reading to do so get to it!**

**Enjoy guys!**

* * *

**Chapter 16,  
Frontlines of War**

Match one of round one: complete.

The cheers were deafening as the crowd roared with approval. The conclusion to the highly anticipated fight between Uzumaki Naruto and Hyuuga Neji had ended with a resounding bang, leaving only Naruto standing in the ring.

Sarutobi had to admit; the boy was strong. _'Naruto… I can't believe it was only a few months ago you became genin… now you're this far already.'_ He smiled a melancholy smile as he watched the boy wave to the crowd. _'If only your parents could be here…'_

Apparently though, he wasn't the only one with his own opinion on the match. The Kazekage's face was masked, but his eyes showed great surprise.

"I must say Sarutobi, that boy is remarkable. I've never seen techniques like that before in my career." He looked askance at the Hokage. "Who did you say he was?"

Sarutobi smiled proudly. "That boy is Uzumaki Naruto. At the moment, I could hazard a guess that he's one of the strongest competitors this year."

"Clearly," the ruler of Suna remarked as he turned back to the blonde below. "He would make a fine opponent for our Gaara."

The ruler of the Sand blinked and turned toward his aged counterpart. "Speaking of which, where is Uchiha Sasuke? His match is up next right?"

The Hokage groaned slightly under his breath as he turned to his aide, as if asking the same question. "So far… we don't know. He hasn't arrived yet."

Sarutobi sighed and rubbed his brow. "I guess we'll have to continue on without him. A shame really…"

"Hold on a moment, Hokage," the masked official advised. "Wouldn't it be possible to push his match back until he arrives? I think he deserves a fighting chance, don't you?"

Sarutobi narrowed his eyes. "Anyone who take punctuality lightly isn't fit for chunin. Besides, we can't be seen to show favoritism; that wouldn't go over well with our allies."

"I see…" the Kazekage said after a moment. "If that's the case, then there _is_ another reason," he offered. "The majority of the shinobi leaders and lords, myself included, are here mainly because we want to see the next fight."

The Wind Shadow's voice seemed to brighten a bit. "He _is_ after all, a member of the prestigious Uchiha clan, and we, as the Wind country, request that our Gaara be given an opportinuty to fight him."

Hiruzen held in his sigh, with great effort it might be noted. It wasn't something he wanted to do, but if what the Kazekage said was true, then it wouldn't be a good idea to disqualify Sasuke too soon.

"…Very well. We'll make an exception and have this match later on." His hesitation was clearly evident in his voice. _'I hope this doesn't bite me later…'_

* * *

"N-Naruto! What are you doing up here?! Or… rather, why is a clone of you here?" Hinata stuttered out in shock. _'How long as he been there? Was he there the whole match?'_

Everyone turned in their surprise to the blonde, including other observers and civilians (who were just as shocked as her).

"Wha-?! Naruto, what are you doing here?!" Ino cried in surprise, not at all having expected Naruto to suddenly appear behind her out of nowhere.

Naruto smiled and waved at them obliviously, like he hadn't a care in the world. "Nice to see you guys too!" He opened an eye and appraised Hinata, a move that did not go unnoticed by her, though it took a second to register. "Wow, you look beautiful, Hina-chan! I guess you didn't _just_ train your skills over the past month, eh?" he said with a charming smile that left her blushing mad.

"I-I… um… thank you… O-oh, that's right! Congratulations on winning Naruto-kun!" She said happily as she kneeled on her seat in reverse so she could look her boyfriend in the face.

Naruto simply waved it off. "Haha, thanks! I refuse to lose to assholes who go around hitting nice girls after all."

Hinata blushed, knowing he meant her, but before she could respond, he interrupted her.

"And it seems," he began, his smile growing, "that you've got a new accessory there."

Instantly Hinata's face lit up at his noticing. "Ah, that's right!" she reached behind her and took her sword off its strap and held it up close, as though she were hugging a precious possession (which she was). "And I even learned her name; it's Shōmetsu!"

"Shōmetsu huh?" Naruto began, as if testing how the name tasted on his tongue. "That's a nice name," Naruto smiled gently. "…for the sword of a beautiful girl."

Hinata blushed and looked away, thoroughly flattered… and embarrassed. "Y-you're going to make me faint again Naruto-kun…" she mumbled with half a smile.

Naruto grinned brightly, his eyes squinting closed as his smile stretched across his face. "Haha, sorry, sorry! But I really love seeing that face of yours…" he said, his eyes opening just enough to give her a look. Immediately, Hinata felt her knees weaken; something about his knowing, admiring gaze just made her feel lightheaded and fuzzy on the inside.

"I hate to break up the foreplay here," Kiba began sarcastically, "But why are you _here_ when you're also over _there_?" he said, pointing to him and then the Naruto in the stadium.

Naruto smiled and turned his gaze to the Inuzuka. "Ah, well, it's kind of a cool thing I figured out while training. See, the Byakugan gives a 360° field of vision, right? Meaning it basically has no blind spots. I realized that would be major advantage to him and just as big a _disadvantage _to me. But I learned that when I use shadow clones, I see everything they see too."

Kiba blinked. "See everything they see? You mean like your vision is linked?"

Naruto shrugged an affirmative. "Kind of yeah. So I snuck a bunch shadow clones, like me, into the crowd before the match so I'd have a spectators view of the whole match."

"Ohhhh I see, so that's how you knew he was going to attack you from behind!" Chouji said as he chomped on his chips.

Naruto smiled and nodded. "Haha, exactly."

"So… since your match is over… does that mean you're going to leave?" Hinata asked disappointedly to the clone of her boyfriend.

"Yeah you'll leave, right? I mean there's no need for you to be here anymore," Sakura said, hoping to get rid of the blonde. For whatever reason, she felt extremely uncomfortable when he was around, especially when he and Hinata interacted.

Naruto gave the bluenette a look before smiling wryly. "Welll… I guess I can stay to keep at least one you company," he said as he reached forward and ruffled her hair, a feeling she actually enjoyed, much to her surprise. And Naruto, in true Naruto-fashion, surprised her _again_ by swinging over the row and sliding behind her, landing in _her_ seat, sitting her on his lap.

"There we go! That's much better, right?" He asked her, knowing full well that she'd agree with him… and blush. Especially the blushing.

Ino felt a tick mark appear on her head as she watched them. "Hey! What the hell?! You're just going to let him sit you on his lap like that? You pervert Naruto!"

Hinata immediately wanted to argue that she didn't mind it, but quickly realized how perverted that would make _her_ seem, forcing yet another blush to her face.

Naruto turned to respond but was cut off by Kiba who waved off his comrade's comment. "Don't mind her bro, she wouldn't be complaining either if it was _Sasuke_ who sat her on his lap." He finished with a smirk, causing both Sakura and Ino to blush at the thought.

Naruto laughed loudly at that. Not so much at his comment but at the thought of Sasuke's annoyed face with having a fan-girl sitting on his lap. "Hahahahaha! Sorry to break it to ya Kiba, but Sasuke'll _never_ let anyone sit on his lap, even if it kills him!"

Kiba chuckled in response. "No kidding? I wouldn't either, especially if it was these two!"

Both boys roared with laughter, while Hinata took the opportunity to settle into her boyfriend's lap. However, there was a bit of trepidation in her action. Naruto was probably as equally aware as she, but she knew that they were treading on thin ice; what with many of her family here at the exams, it was unlikely they wouldn't see her and him together, and she was fairly certain they wouldn't take kindly to her sitting on a hot-blooded male's lap, even if they were dating (or courting in their words).

Naruto seeming to pick on her concerns simply leaned forward, resting his chin on her shoulder as he looked over it, his Rinnegan eyes leering at her knowingly, as if to say he wasn't concerned at all, and neither should she. Gazing into his purple orbs, she could only nod and take his word (or _look_ in this case) for it. Knowing it would do no good to worry about it, she did her best to relax in his lap, however impossible it seemed to be.

"So… you're not leaving?" Sakura asked, sounding (to her credit) only a slight bit disappointed with his continued presence.

Naruto's grin faltered and his eyes rotated to the right. "…You know, I get the distinct impression you don't like me very much," he stated with an almost-serious tone.

Not really wanting to answer his jab, she turned away silently, trying to ignore him. The clone simply smirked with a shrug and returned his eyes the arena.

Hinata watched as the real Naruto down in the ring continued smiling, his gaze turning to sweep over the audience as he waved to the still-applauding crowd.

* * *

The real Naruto's smile widened in satisfaction of what he saw through his clone in the stands. For whatever reason, Sakura annoyed him. It might have been the fact that she was so hopelessly "in love" with Sasuke to the point of exclusion of all else, or it might have been the not-so-subtle display of irritation at his presence just now; it was a toss-up.

"Ok, Uzumaki. Enough crowd-pleasing. We need to get the next match underway."

Naruto turned to Genma with a quizzical look. "What? Has Sasuke arrived yet?"

Genma blinked at the question and shrugged his shoulders. "Not that I've been told."

"Then I'll take my sweet time," Naruto replied with a smirk as he began moving, albeit slowly, to the stairway that led back up to the waiting box.

Genma merely sighed as the blonde moved like a slug out of the arena. However he was surprised when he looked up to the Hokage box and saw the old man give a subtle motion to him. _'We're postponing the match? That's showing a bit too much favoritism don't you think Hokage-sama?' _he mused to himself.

But, it _was_ the Hokage's decision after all; he had no reason to question it.

With a sigh, he let out a little smirk and threw his head back, speaking loud enough to address the crowd.

"Due to an absence, we will be postponing the match between Uchiha Sasuke and Sabaku no Gaara! Said match will take place at the end of the first round!"

He idly noted the surprised, yet excited expressions of many spectators, and the mildly curious look the Uzumaki boy threw back at him before he ascended the stairs.

'_Well, I guess he doesn't need to bother trying to convince the other participants to take their time 'till Sasuke gets here,'_ he thought with a laugh. From what he knew of the blonde, there was a small rivalry between him and the Uchiha progeny, but not an unfriendly one.

Such a thing was rare these days.

* * *

Naruto smirked as he ascended the stairs to the waiting box, his visage being met with the anxious looks of the others who were already there. He flashed a smile and shoved his hands into his pockets.

"What? Don't look so surprised; it's your own fault if you underestimated me."

His gaze was met by Gaara and his siblings, though opposed to their brother, their looks held a bit of fear and anxiousness in them. Gaara… it was as if he were appraising a potentially phony antique. But Naruto simply shrugged off his gaze, letting his eyes linger a few moments more on the other two, enjoying their expressions at the (admittedly) strange pattern of his ocular orbs.

Opposite of them, Shikamaru and Shino welcomed him with warm smiles, and Shikamaru even gave him a pat on the back.

"Well well, looks like you were a kick-ass type after all. Totally out of my lame-ass type league," the Nara boy commented with a begrudgingly admiring expression. Shino, for his part, nodded his head respectfully. "Congratulations Naruto-san. As I expected, you're very strong."

Naruto beamed at their praise and rubbed the back of his head. "Aw geez guys, I don't know what to say!" Wrapping his arms around their necks he pulled them into a man-hug, laughing as he did so.

"I can't help but wonder however, why you didn't use your sword…" Shino said as he pulled out of Naruto's embrace and adjusted his sunglasses. "Even though you've had it since as far back as the academy, I don't believe I've ever seen your draw it."

"Yeah, what's up with that?" Shikamaru chimed in.

Naruto blinked at the both of them. "Huh? What're you talking about? I use it all the time! Well, maybe not in public, but I _do _use it. I just don't want to use it when I don't have too."

"So that's why you didn't use it in your fight against Kiba. Even so, you got pretty beat up because of it."

Naruto laughed sheepishly. "Yeah… that was kind of my own fault. I'm sure your sensei already filled you in, but I only awakened this Rinnegan recently, and I decided to test out my powers during the fight."

Shikamaru looked at him like he'd just seen the stupidest thing in his life. "You _tested_ your new powers in a fight where killing is totally permissible?"

Naruto simply laughed nervously and nodded an affirmative, causing Shikamaru to pour all of his willpower into not palming his face.

In truth, he understood where the boy was coming from; Naruto was a chivalrous guy, and he probably didn't want to use his sword on a fellow classmate. In fact, Naruto probably had never thought he'd _need_ to. So Shikamaru understood his choice when he was suddenly faced with the decision; use a weapon meant for killing on a comrade, or come up with a new strategy.

Regardless of his thought processes, it had worked, however narrowly. Naruto had nearly bought the farm, and if it weren't for that last blast of telekinesis, Kiba would have probably won. _'Telekinesis…'_ he wondered silently. _'That's the sort of thing you only hear about in comics and on TV.'_

Naruto had guessed right; Asuma had filled the Nara boy in… at least, as best he could. Even though he wouldn't be fighting Naruto in the first round, it was likely he would in the second or third rounds, if he even got that far, and he knew it would be foolish of him to think that he might not have to face the Uzumaki. However, Asuma had been of little help on the matter.

* * *

"_Naruto?"_

"_Yeah. When Naruto got his contacts knocked out, it looked like every Jounin there knew what it was. So I figured you could tell me about it. What's up with him?"_

_Asuma took a deep drag of his cigarette and breathed it out in a puff of smoke. "It's called the Rinnegan. As you've probably guessed already, it's one of the three great doujutsu. Along with the Sharingan and the Byakugan, they're the strongest eye techniques in the world." He paused to let the information sink in. "Normally eye techniques are genetic; the Sharingan is passed down through the Uchiha, and the Byakugan through the Hyuuga."_

"_So you're saying the Rinnegan is passed down through the… Uzumaki?" As far as Shikamaru knew, Naruto was an orphan, save the man he called "father" (whom he safely assumed wasn't his genetic parent). Plus, he'd never heard of an Uzumaki family or clan before…_

"_No, I don't think so," Asuma corrected, causing Shikamaru to blink. "The Uzumaki were once a great family; they even comprised a whole village; Uzoshigakure. However…" he paused as his face turned sad. "Their power was coveted, and they had many enemies. That village was wiped out long ago." He breathed out a regrettable sigh._

_Shikamaru's eyes narrowed in realization. _'Is that why Naruto's an orphan? Man… that's horrible.'_ He suddenly felt a great amount of sympathy for his blonde classmate. Naruto was always a loner, never participating in group activities or gatherings. And Shikamaru wasn't blind to the way adults acted around him and directed their children to stay away from him. Even his own mother had once told him not to go near him. Predictably, his father, Shikaku, didn't bother enforcing his wife's wishes, and told him not to worry about it. Because of the majority of the village's adults, Naruto was always alone. _'Fuck… now I feel like a total dick…' _he mentally berated himself, though he wondered what warranted the hateful expressions and attitudes from the citizens. Was the Uzumaki clan _that_ hated?_

"_However," Asuma continued, "I don't recall ever hearing about them possessing the Rinnegan before… In fact, the Rinnegan hasn't been seen in hundreds of years. Most people believed it was just a legend… until now."_

_Shikamaru gave his sensei a brief look. "…So, basically, you have no idea what it does."_

"_Not a clue."_

"…_Wonderful."_

* * *

However, knowing that it was so legendary as to be considered one of the "three greats," even after all this time, he supposed telekinesis wasn't outside of its grasp. However, at the same time, what were those other abilities Naruto had used. Extra arms? Explosive projectiles? And he hadn't been so awestruck not to notice that seal-less wind technique he'd used. However, even as he wondered these things, he knew that there was at least _one_ common denominator for these things.

Ichimaru Gin.

All of these things that now surrounded Naruto had started not long after his "father" appeared. His and Hinata's becoming an item, his slight change in personality, his new techniques (which he'd never even _heard_ of before), and of course the appearance of the so-called Rinnegan in his eyes. Of course, it was entirely possible that he'd had the gene for the Rinnegan all along…

But Ichimaru Gin was different. He wasn't indigenous to Konoha; Shikamaru knew that for a fact. But even though he was a jonin, he wasn't part of any of the social circles jonin usually tended to form. The odd circumstances revolving around him and the team he was helping to lead were considerably abnormal, and led Shikamaru to suspect something strange was going on, with Gin somewhere near the center.

But such ideas were half-formed and immature. Nothing he figured was worth wasting his precious time delving into too deeply.

"But surely you considered using your sword on Neji. I can't imagine you'd not," Shino commented to Naruto.

The blonde sighed and leaned over the railing. "Yeah, I had thought about it. But even if I don't like him, he's Hinata's family; it wouldn't be right to go at him trying to kill him. Besides, I figured if I could beat him without resorting to my sword, it'd be all the more demoralizing, and discourage him from trying anything like what he did in the prelims again."

"…That's surprisingly well thought-out for you…"

"Shut up."

"Perhaps it was simply that Naruto didn't want to hinder his relationship with Hinata-san by killing one of her family," Shino surmised.

Naruto felt his check brighten a bit, and he rubbed his nose with a smile. "Well… that _might_ have had _something_ to do with it, hehe."

* * *

Gaara fidgeted where he stood, his eyes roaming from Naruto to the arena, and then back; circling in his skull like a bird of prey circles its meal.

Kankuro was getting concerned. Not for Gaara of course, but for _himself_. The more unstable Gaara became, the more danger they were all put in. Granted, that was kind of the point, as far as the whole "plan" went, but Kankuro really, _really_ didn't want to end up becoming a sand-encased dead man before his time.

It was bad enough that Gaara was stoked to fight that Sasuke guy, but what made it even worse was that he also wanted to fight the very man standing not five feet away from him. Having to stand next to such an anticipated opponent and _not_ being able to fight him… it was probably driving Gaara nuts. Well, more nuts than he already was.

But in a way even _more_ concerning was the fact that because of the delay in Sasuke and Gaara's match, _his _match was up next; against the creepy Aburame fellow. _'Crap, I don't want to reveal the new gimmicks I put in Karasu… What the hell, this match doesn't even matter.'_ Regardless of how he knew the crowd wouldn't be too pleased, he knew that if he fought now, there was a strong chance he'd be forced to use his most iconic ticks to come out on top, which would severely hinder him in the coming invasion.

"Proctor!" He shouted to the jounin in the arena. "I forfeit!"

The shock on the faces of Shikamaru and even Shino would have been Kodak worthy, had the displeasure of the crowd not distracted them with boos and shouts.

Naruto took his surprise in stride and smirked at his bug-wielding comrade. "Looks like he's scared of you Shino-san. How's that make you feel?"

Shino didn't respond, but Naruto could tell his eyes were glaring pointedly at the puppet user behind his sunglasses. "If anything, I suppose it _is_ wise…"

Kankuro had to bite his tongue from retorting. _'Like hell I'm scared of you pricks! If it weren't for this plan, I'd happily wipe the floor with all of you!'_

Shikmaru on the other hand, was having his own internal episode. _'Oh shit! That means my match is next! Fuck! I don't really want to fight a girl….' _He looked over to where Temari was looking at him as if daring him to do the same thing as her brother. _'Actually, that's not a bad idea… Yeah who cares, I'll just give up too. No point in fighting a boring batt-'_

He never got to finish his thought as he felt the world revolve around him and a sudden feeling of vertigo take him, followed by a "Do your best Shikamaru!" from behind him.

It wasn't until he hit the ground with a painful thud that he realized Naruto had shoved him over the railing. He glowered up at the waving blonde as he lay on his back. _'Oh you are sooo going to get it later,'_ he threatened mentally.

As he stared up, a shadow leapt from the waiting box he'd just been occupying, floating down to the ground in the center of the ring. He gazed at his female opponent impassively, even as Genma practically ordered him to get up.

He sighed and rolled over. "Do I have to? I mean, it's a girl…" he grumbled, his back against the wall.

No sooner had the words left his mouth that the blonde girl, Temari growled and ran at him, her fan raised above her head.

He sighed. "Geez…"

Fan met ground and dirt and dust exploded into the air. Temari waited for it to settle before noting that her opponent had disappeared.

"Well, since you're so eager, I guess I'll do it. No way I'll lose to a girl after all." Shikamaru smirked down at her from where he had attached himself to the wall above her.

Temari wanted to growl at him, but despite herself, she felt a sense of joy radiate from the pit of her stomach. She wasn't like Kankuro; she'd enjoy any challenge posed to her.

* * *

Chouji raised an eyebrow as he sucked the cheesy residue from his chips off the tips of his fingers. "Wow, that's weird."

"What is?" Ino asked.

"You know, seeing Shikamaru in the finals. It's really out of place."

Ino looked at her teammate, nearly appalled and looking ready to punch Chouji in the gut. "Don't say that! He may not have any sort of special techniques, but he's smart, right? He'll beat her for sure!"

Chouji sniggered as he reached into a new bag of chips and withdrew a handful. "Hehe, you don't know Shikamaru like I do. He'll definitely give up, just watch."

Naruto eyed them humorously, quite proud of what his original did in giving the Nara boy the little _nudge_ he needed to get into it. He shifted a bit; the, quite frankly, _hot_ girl on his lap, while completely welcome, was killing the circulation in his legs. Hinata realized this as he moved and resituated herself so her weight was sitting higher up, sparing his thighs further torment. However, even as she did so, she could help but wonder why Naruto was so blatantly acting… well… not _intimate,_ but _very_ affectionate towards her, especially in the presence of nearly her entire clan, and her immediate family.

She trusted Naruto with her life; that wasn't in question, but she found the potential excuse of left over bravado from his win over her cousin to be a bit too much to believe; Naruto wasn't known for making overly stupid mistakes, especially when it came to their relationship. Even at the hot spring, when no one but themselves were together, Naruto took great care in protecting their secret. So why he was now doing almost the exact opposite (at least as far as she was concerned) truly confused and concerned her.

She couldn't help but give voice to her concerns. "A-ano… Naruto-kun?" she asked quietly, not wanting those around her to hear her.

He started, leaning in to hear her dim voice. "Hm? What is it?"

"N-not that I really… _really_ mind this, but why are we suddenly…?" she left the question unfinished, but she motioned with her eyes down to where she was using him as a makeshift chair.

Naruto blinked and smiled. But it wasn't a smile Hinata could say she'd seen him wear before… at least, not many times. It wasn't quite the smile of happiness, nor the smile of joy. It seemed to be the sort of smile that came from feeling… _smug._ He let out a short laugh and let his right arm snake around her waist and pull her closer to him.

"Oh, this? What's wrong with having a wonderful girl like you sitting on my lap?" he asked, a slight twinge of pink coloring his cheeks. Hinata also blushed a bit, mostly in response to his praise.

He cut her off before she could try to correct him. "Don't worry, Hinata," he said more seriously. "I'm just…" he trailed off, his gaze turning far to the left of the stands, where, she realized, her family was sitting. "…making a statement."

And he accurately guessed that it had not gone unnoticed.

* * *

Many of the men around him were getting… very _uncomfortable_, for lack of a more appropriate word. Hiashi knew why, of course. He was feeling very similar. All it took was one active Byakugan to alert the others of the heiress'… _predicament._

It was probably clearer to Hiashi than to anyone else that Hinata wasn't the one to instigate it, but that probably meant little to his fellows. Rather, the fact that they were acting so… _familiar_ with each other, and in broad daylight was an embarrassment to the rest of the older Hyuuga. They'd _clearly_ designated the boundaries for _both_ children.

Though Naruto _was_ a potential candidate, his relationship with Hinata wasn't set in stone; the Hyuuga council could easily change their minds about who she could and couldn't marry. Because of the tenuous state of their relationship, the council couldn't condone any actions beyond the very basic of social behaviors. Holding hands was fine. Hugs were… tolerable. Kissing? Oh hell no! Kissing would only cement their (the children's) relationship deeper than it needed to be. In such an event, separating them would end up being far more difficult than necessary.

Yet here they were, siting on each other's laps like a couple. Not that Hiashi could really argue, morally. When he'd given Gin free reign to protect and raise his eldest daughter, he'd meant it. Anything he could let her get away with (provided it was what she wanted) was his way of apologizing for her harsh upbringing (regardless of how apathetic he felt in doing so). It would be difficult to hold back the council from trying to openly do something to stop, or at the very least forcibly regulate their relationship now.

But Hiashi was less concerned with that than he was with trying to keep the incredulous smile from appearing on his face.

No one else would notice but a Hyuuga; all of the various Naruto clones around the arena (now being noticed by the clan) had their Rinnegan eyes trained on _them_. Naruto knew they were watching… and he was staring them right back in the face. It was as if he was saying, "_Yeah? Got a problem? Wanna do something about it? Try me."_

If anything, the victorious smirk that seemed to grow on the boy's face spoke more than any words possibly could. With the startling and _very_ public revelation of his Rinnegan, now visible _firsthand_ to the cynical eyes of the Hyuuga clan, Naruto _knew_ that he was an even greater potential boon to the Hyuuga clan; a boon that, in effect, swung the pendulum almost entirely in his favor.

_Naruto_ was now of greater blood.

The clan _could_ try to stop him now, restrain him, regulate him… but it would all come to naught. Naruto's abilities already bordered on the incredible… seen by this fight _alone_. Even in its immature form, his Rinnegan-granted powers could only grow from here. And as much as they hated to admit it, Neji _was_ the prodigy of the Hyuuga clan; for Naruto to so completely defeat Neji like he had… it spoke volumes of Naruto's already accrued powers.

'_Ichimaru Gin… your prodigy has succeeded our own… and already he understands that great power he wields…'_

That power was authority. It was a simple rule of nature; those who possessed power were both respected and feared by those who did not. More so, that fear and respect _scaled_.

Hiashi knew what Naruto was doing. He would force the Hyuuga clan to acknowledge his authority; to respect him; to fear him. And then he would have complete freedom to take whatever he wanted.

That thing that he wanted was his daughter.

Hiashi's gaze zeroed in on Naruto's, and he felt as if the boy could tell that he was looking at him, for no matter what angle Hiashi looked at him from, Naruto's eyes seemed to stare straight into his. Actually, it was more likely it was just his imagination; his head was already swimming with the strategic planning he'd have to do to calm down the clan after this.

"Father?"

Hiashi blinked out of his inward musing by the voice of his youngest daughter. "Hm?"

"Your smiling… weird."

As soon as the words left her mouth his face went hard as stone, back to its original impassive form. "Oh… yes… I'm just humored by the irony…"

"Irony? Irony of what?" Hanabi said, a strange expression appearing on her face.

Hiashi sighed, allowing his face to soften (which was as close to a conscious smile as he passively allowed) as he directed his gaze further back, eyeing the ever-grinning visage of his silver-haired acquaintance. As always his grin made the Hyuuga's skin crawl, even as it widened, possibly thinking the very same thing he was.

"Let's… let's just say… I lost a bet."

* * *

He flexed his hands tightly, feeling the power well up within him, as if on instinct. It was already becoming second nature to him. _'Naruto… this power really is incredible,'_ he thought as a grin split his lips.

"Sasuke, c'mon, we've gotta get moving, or you'll be late."

At the sound of his name, the Uchiha stood with a grunting sigh. He felt his muscles flex and stiffen before relaxing. The formerly foreign feeling of a blade on his hip reminded him of who he would be fighting in the tournament. After he beat Gaara, and then either Temari or Shikamaru, it would be him against Naruto.

'_Heh, I'm gonna love seeing his face when I whip out my own-'_

"Sasuke, let's go!"

"Yeah yeah, I heard you the first time," he retorted to his cyclopean sensei. With a flash of light, both were gone in an instant; their forms already too distant to be seen.

* * *

For the next fifteen minutes, the crowd watching in (surprisingly) growing interest as Shikamaru and Temari battled it out, culminating in the Nara child using the hole in the ground Naruto had used to latch onto Neji's ankles to subtly weave his web of shadows through his opponent's defenses, only to stun the crowd with a sudden surrender. However, his explanation (consisting of a combination of laziness and lack of chakra) pacified the crowds, and in a way, even impressed them. The ability to calmly analyze the tides of battle and know where one's limits lie was an oft coveted, rarely blessed gift. Though they all agreed that he stood to lean at least a _little_ motivation.

However, to see the absolutely shocked face of the Suna girl was quite cathartic for TenTen, who silently sent a thank you to Shikamaru, and a sudden urge to send him a gift basket or something. _'No, he probably wouldn't know what to do with a gift basket… a pillow maybe?'_

Regardless, the match completed with a round of genuine applause as Shikamaru made his way up the stairs, followed closely, though dimly by his opponent. He was greeted at the top with congratulatory looks and words from Naruto and Shino. He waved them off, of course.

"More importantly," he countered, "Sasuke's match is up next, right? So where is he?"

However, Shikamaru hadn't expected Naruto's reaction. He'd expected Naruto's grin to twist into a frown, his expression turn to one of concern. However, when he saw Naruto's grin _brighten_, he knew something was up.

"Oh, he's coming," he said with an anxious grin of excitement.

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow at him, but was suddenly distracted by the crowd cheering with such great intensity that it completely dwarfed their cheers from earlier. As he leaned over the edge to look for what they were cheering for, he noticed a lone figure striding confidently into the center of the arena. At first he couldn't recognize who it was, but then the somewhat-familiar black hair revealed his identity.

Uchiha Sasuke. Though with a significantly different wardrobe than what he'd ever seen the boy wear before; he was dressed in loose black shorts that fell just below his knees, a black shirt with the left arm a long sleeve, and his right a short one. His shirt was loose and had a high collar, for which he was known to wear. On the back, the proud Uchiha insignia was stamped for all to see. Around his waist was a white belt, and on his back hip was a katana, which was clearly new.

Odd… he'd never seen Sasuke use a sword before… he couldn't possibly have learned enough in a month to be able to wield it properly, even if he was a genius. However, when Shikamaru turned to ask Naruto about it, he was startled to see Naruto's knuckles turning white from the force he was gripping the railing. In his eyes were a mixture of anxiety and excitement.

What he could never know however, was that Naruto was practically vibrating with anticipation.

'_Sasuke… if you're wearing that, you must have completed your training…' _The fact that Sasuke was wearing a sword that Naruto could _clearly_ identify as a Zanpakuto, meant that he had to have finished the preliminary training from Gin, which required Sasuke to communicate with his Zanpakuto.

The very idea excited Naruto quite a bit. At first he thought the idea of Sasuke gaining Shinigami powers would be a bad thing, for many reasons. But here he was realizing that Sasuke was getting close to his own level, and he was actually _excited _by it.

Then again, he was easily excited by various things. Ramen being one of them, so this wasn't entirely surprising if he thought about it.

"There, see? He made it. Just like I said he would!" Naruto exclaimed as he gave Shikamaru's shoulder a nudge.

The Nara boy simply grunted away his defeat and leaned over the railing, resting his chin in the palm of his hand. "At least I didn't bet money on it…"

However, Naruto was not blind to movement to his right. His eyes shifted ever so slightly and he spotted Gaara, about-facing and striding toward the door. One of his siblings made to reach out to him, but was stopped by the other. Though he couldn't hear what they were saying, he figured it was some kind of warning. Not exactly surprising. Gaara certainly seemed like the kind of person who could be very unstable.

* * *

"Sasuke-kun made it!" came the rejoicing cries of Sakura and Ino, along with a sigh of relief from Hinata. Naruto's confident gaze and smug smile only became more apparent as he watched his teammate walk into the center of the ring.

Naruto gave a little look to his girlfriend. "I think you can relax now," he laughed lightly at her. She blinked at him, not realizing that he'd been able to feel the tensing of her body the entire time she'd been sitting on his lap. She gave a short blush and turned away, back to the arena. As much as she might have otherwise enjoyed reacting in such a way that amused Naruto, her mind was preoccupied with Sasuke. Unlike Neji, that Gaara boy was far more dangerous looking. Her Byakugan could see far more than any mortal eye, and she could see the vast difference between their chakra. When she'd first seen it, she'd been so stunned, she didn't know what to say; it was the first time she'd seen anyone with chakra coils as big as Naruto's.

However, while she was worried, she also trusted that Gin and Kakashi-sensei had prepared Sasuke as best he could for this match. Thinking of which…

"Where's Kakashi-sensei?" she asked looking around. If Sasuke was here, then in all likelihood so was he.

"Closer than you think," said jounin spoke up as he descended the stairs towards them with a smile.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto and Hinata exclaimed with brightened faces as he approached, causing the other genin to turn and acknowledge his presence.

"There ya are," Gin commented as he shifted over a seat, giving room for Kakashi. The one-eyed man politely obliged and sat down next to him. "Oh? They're already starting? That was fast."

"The match hasn't started yet… I don't think," Rangiku observed unsurely.

"So, Kakshi-sensei," Kiba spoke up, turning halfway in his seat to look at the man, "what kind of training did you give Sauske? After watching what Naruto learned, I'm totally stoked to know what you and… Gin-sensei?" he trailed off, unsure how to address Gin formally. Ichimaru have a short nod and Kiba continued. "…you and Gin-sensei taught him together!"

Kakashi laughed. "Oh we didn't teach him much. In all honesty he's a rather boring student; what he didn't already know he picked up just like that."

"Like what?" Ino asked, turning to speak to her superior.

Kakashi gave Gin a pointed look and smiled. "Oh… this and that."

Ino's look of frustrated indignation was worth the remark as she turned around in her seat, huffing and crossing her arms over her chest. "For a sensei, you're a horrible source of information."

"Oh come on Ino," Chouji placating said, "If he told us, we wouldn't be surprised when Sasuke actually does it." He turned back to the Cyclops. "Right Kakashi-sensei?"

Kakashi gave a short laugh and shrugged. "What can I say? I'm a hopeless theatric."

* * *

Sasuke watched as Gaara came to a stop in front of him. The Uchiha regarded him carefully; his narrowed eyes, his firm expression… it was a little different from what he remembered about the red-head from before the second exam.

Opposed to his original expression which showed interest but seemed to remain largely uncaring, Gaara's current expression was much darker.

"You look strained," Sasuke commented casually. "If you need a few more minutes, that's fine."

However, instead of impassive ignorance like he expected, Gaara's face twisted into a snarling chuckle. "Hehe. I couldn't wait any longer if I tried. Come on…"

He raised his head, eyes wide and grinning sickly.

"…Mother's hungry!"

Immediately the gourd on his back opened, spilling the precious sand around him.

Sasuke took a tentative step back as the sand flared up like lava-fountains, the undulating grains clearly taking on aggressive movements. However, he knew his battle plan. He'd had the fortune of watching Gaara fight Lee in the preliminaries. Quite the show, if he was honest. And more than amusing, it had been very helpful; it showed Gaara's so-called absolute defense had one glaring weakness; speed.

If one was fast enough, as Lee was, the sand shield wouldn't be able to keep up. However, if the sand shield failed, Gaara's sand armor would reduce whatever happened to get through the shield. In effect, it was a two-layer defense. As Lee demonstrated, speed alone wasn't enough to penetrate the sand armor; it would take power as well, and generally speaking, most ninja weren't proficient in both.

However Sasuke had ample time to prepare. Knowing was half the battle after all. For the past month he'd practiced and perfected the techniques taught to him by Kakashi and Gin. Thanks to that difficult and grueling training, he now had two main weapons against the Suna nin.

The sand surged forward, lashing out like whips. Sasuke quickly stepped to the side, leaping away as the sand followed him. The Uchiha was careful to keep tabs on Gaara's movements as well. Sure he didn't have to move to direct the sand, but a persons' expression can say a lot about what they'll try to do, and with the Sharingan, reading those intentions was much easier.

'_First though, let's test out how strong that shield is…'_

Flipping away, he put some distance between himself and the sand wielder, simultaneously weaving through familiar hand signs. Before he'd even come to a stop, his lungs were already filled with air. _'__**Katon, Gōkakyū no Jutsu!**__'_

Rich, orange flames spewed from his mouth, coalescing into a great sphere as they blasted forward. The sand quickly doubled back on itself and rose in front of Gaara just in time to block the blazing sphere. Heat washed over and around the pan-shaped shield, though its singing intensity wasn't enough to even cause Gaara to blink.

As soon as the flames ceased, the sand shifted again, sliding across the ground before spiking towards Sasuke. Despite the fact the perspective of the incoming spikes would have been unnoticeable to the normal human eye, Sasuke's Sharingan was able to see the minute movements and shadows they created, and quickly leapt away quickly. However, the spikes abruptly bent at a hard 90-degree angle, following his trajectory and aimed for his landing point.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed as he saw it. But scarcely had his toes touched the ground that he heard the rushing of sand coming up from behind him. A slight glance that direction told him as much. _Tch_-ing, he quickly lowered himself to the ground just in time to feel the stray grains of sand pass over his head. But Gaara wasn't done yet; as soon as the sand collided, it conjoined into a sphere, before dropping like a rock, intent on spilling over Sasuke's lowered form.

But Sasuke couldn't have that.

With a smirk, and to the astonishment of everyone in the stadium, he vanished, just as the sand slammed into the ground.

Gaara blinked in surprise. He shouldn't have been able to get away from that. However, even as far gone as Gaara's sanity was at the moment, his sense did not betray him as he felt the faint wisps of air on his neck, his own sand sliding behind him to block an incoming fist.

It barely made it in time. Before Gaara could even retaliate, Sasuke had vanished again. Without even thinking, Gaara made his sand form up behind him, expecting the Uchiha's next attack.

However, Sasuke reappeared in front of him again, as if he hadn't even left. Gaara's eyes widened as he fought to change his body's rotation the other way.

"Too slow!"

Faster than a blink, Sasuke smashed his foot forward, the disoriented sand shield offering only the flimsiest of defenses. In an instant, his foot connected with Gaara's solar plexus.

To his credit, the sand wielder didn't make a sound as he slid across the ground to a stop many meters away.

Naruto smirked as he watched over Hinata's shoulder. "As expected, Sasuke's doing his thing."

Hinata nodded in agreement. "H-he's definitely gotten more proficient with Shunpo."

"I'd be worried if he didn't," Gin commented. "Tha' was one o' the biggest things we worked with 'im on."

Kakashi nodded as the genin turned their heads toward them. "That's right. Of all the aspects, speed was the most crucial for bypassing that sand shield."

"But, what about the sand armor?" asked Sakura, eyeing the crumbling layer of sand that was now visible on Gaara's form. "Speed might beat the shield, but…"

"Well, it wasn't just for that," Kakashi added. "It was also important for another reason."

"Another reason?" Ino parroted. "What do you mean?"

Naruto's eyes narrowed curiously, knowing that something was up. "You taught him something… didn't you? Something big."

Kakashi averted his glance and made to scratch his neck. "Ah, well… its possible."

Naruto smirked at his sensei's ambiguity. Hinata saw it and wondered what it was for. "Naruto?"

The boy in question merely smiled more. "Don't let your eyes off the fight Hinata," he said with excitement palpably laced in his voice. She blinked in surprise as he continued, "We're probably gonna see something cool."

She turned back as per his prompt, and diligently activated her Byakugan. Instantly she wondered what kind of training Sasuke had gone through with Gin and Kakashi sensei. His reiatsu had nearly tripled!

* * *

"Sorry, was that all?" Sasuke said with a smirk as he stood, triumphantly before the sand wielder.

Gaara simply stared at him defiantly. However, it wasn't the customary type of defiance Sasuke had come to expect from fellow genin. Like Naruto, he might have expected him to bear the sort of expression that said _I'm not going to give up, regardless of what you throw at me. On my pride!_ or something. But the look the Sand nin was throwing at him wasn't given lightly. This was different. It was as if he was saying _I acknowledge your skill, and now I'll get serious._

It was only going to get harder from here on.

However, as he slowly, almost methodically stood, his stare was so intense, it seemed to draw Sasuke in. "You're dead," Gaara responded coldly, a sickening smirk flickering over his face for the briefest moment.

With a fling of his arms, sand surged from his chest, like a spear. Sasuke quickly leapt up above it, feeling the wind on his toes at it narrowly missed them. However, just as he was about to land on it, his Sharingan spotted the minute grains of sand gather together below, him shooting out of the spike perpendicularly.

'_A vector?!'_

Though he saw it, he was still in the air, and was unable to dodge the strike completely. With a sharp pain, the spear-ling slashed upward, grazing Sasuke's left eye and cheek. The Uchiha quickly backed away, his expression now grimmer than before. "Sneaky bastard," he grumbled as he wiped the blood from his vision.

Gaara however, only smiled darker. "That's right, mother. And that's just a taste of what's to come!"

Sasuke blinked curiously. "Who're you talking to?"

Gaara didn't answer, only pointed and arm forward, directing the sand to attack. Sasuke quickly dashed aside, narrowly missing the wave of sand shoot past him. He ducked below as it circled around and up, trying to smash him from above. Sasuke narrowed his eyes as he leaned forward, his toes gripping the ground solidly with chakra. Before Gaara could blink, Sasuke was gone.

It wasn't until he felt the sand suddenly star back towards him that he realized Sasuke had gotten behind him. The -_shing-_ of metal sent a chill up his spine.

Sasuke withdrew his zanpakuto, aiming to slash Gaara's spinal column. _'Game over.'_

The blade connected, but not with the almost satisfying -_splurch!- _of blood he'd expected. Instead, it landed with a solid, and resounding _-clang!-_.

Sasuke's eyes widened as a massive wall of sand rose in front of him, fanning forward like a bowl to shield Gaara, who's expression was unreadable. However, the Suna nin slowly, almost meticulously, brought his hands together, interweaving his fingers, save his index. Without even turning to acknowledge Sasuke's presence, the sand returned to him, wrapping around him like a dome, curving downward until it encompassed him in a sphere.

Sasuke's eyed narrowed. _'So he can even harden his sand like this? What insane compression.'_

There wasn't even an indentation from his blade. _'Even so, all he can do is keep me out. If he uses the sand now, it'll leave himself open, or at least weaken his own defense.'_ He looked down at his hands which held his sword. _'I'm still not capable of using my Zanpakuto yet. Not exactly surprising since it took Naruto nearly six years to do it on his own. A part of me hoped I could use it by the end of the month with Gin training me. That means all the training with Kakashi wasn't a waste after all.'_

He took several steps back, planting his blade in the earth in front of him, lowering his hands to his sides and breathing deeply. _'Alright… Here goes.'_ With a blur of motion his hands met. _'Saru, tatsu, ne, tori, ushi, mi, inu, tora, saru!'_

For a brief moment, nothing happened…

But, presently, small blue sparks began to dance across Sasuke's flesh, growing intensity until they were sending large arcs of electricity around him, gathering in the palm of his hand. Slowly, a large blue light of energy manifested in his grasp.

* * *

"Whoa!" Naruto explained, Hinata gasping at the same time, all the other's simply gaping at the cyan light in his hand.

"Holy crap…! The hell is that?!" Kiba shouted in shock.

"Is that… electricity?" asked Sakura, her brow furrowed as she tried to analyze what it was.

"Naturally as his teacher, I'm expected to teach my students. But there's one very specific reason I chose to dedicate all of my time to Sasuke during the past month," Kakashi began, everyone's gazes needing to be torn from the sight below. Kakashi turned and gave them a sort of smile. "Because he's the same type as me."

He returned his eyes to his student. "Of the thousands of jutsu I've copied over the years, there's one particular jutsu that only I know, one I created myself."

As the technique intensified, it began to let off a strange sound.

"The chakra's clearly visible…!" Ino gasped.

"And what's with that sound?!" Kiba added, placing a hand to his ear. Akamaru shook his head to clear it of the annoying sensation the sound made in his sensitive drums.

"Kakashi-sensei, isn't that the one you used against Zabuza?" Naruto asked, vaguely remembering the technique Kakashi used in that epic fight.

Kakashi nodded. "It's called Raikiri, though that's just a nickname it picked up. Its true name, because of the bird-like chirping sounds it makes, is Chidori."

* * *

Sasuke breathed deeply as he felt the slight tingle of energy traverse his skin. It felt… good. A technique that can pierce any defense; an absolute attack. _'Now… let's get this done.'_

Stepping forward, he walked by and gripped his katana, focusing the energy through the length of the blade. He stared at it for a moment and smirked. _'The technique is compatible… perfect,'_ he thought with a smile. Truthfully, he'd not tested the idea of using the Chidori in tandem with his Zanpakuto blade. It was something he'd come up with that very morning. He'd been contemplating how to take advantage of his newfound powers, and how he might be able to increase the reaching length of his Chidori, which for all its power, was only as long as he could thrust it. The idea of fusing the technique with the blade had been in his head all morning. However, as reiryoku and chakra were different, if simultaneously similar, the idea could have failed easily.

'_It seems that object of spiritual properties can fuse with chakra. I wonder if Naruto knows this, or even Hinata.'_ His eyes glanced to the crowds, knowing they were mixed among the mass of people somewhere.

'_Well, if they didn't before, they do now.'_

* * *

Naruto's eyes widened as his Rinnegan revealed to him the chakra pouring through the Uchiha's Zanpakuto. _'Incredible! I didn't even think of trying to mix chakra techniques with Shinsō!'_ As far as he'd ever been concerned, spiritual techniques and chakra techniques were two different things, and while they had similar form and function, couldn't mix well.

'_Clearly I was wrong…'_ he mused.

* * *

Sasuke steadily lifted the blade up to his face, pointing the tip towards the imposing sphere of packed sand. Knowing that Gaara's sand could take any form, and its potential speed and lethality, he needed to make sure he wouldn't get caught by any sort of counter attack.

He spread his stance and breathed deeply. Slowly, his recently awakened spiritual power boiled to life, circling around him invisibly, manifesting as a pressure around him. The wreathed blade lit up his face like a blue sun, sending flickering shadows across the ground.

The sphere stood there, unmoving, as if patiently waiting… waiting for him to attack. Gathering his strength, Sasuke narrowed his eyes at his target, and with a grunt, shunted all of his aggregated power to his feet and leapt.

With a cerulean flash, he vanished from sight and sound. _'__**Shunpo!**__'_

In an instant he was inches from Gaara's sphere. Already the sand was shifting to intercept his attack… and to impale him.

Unluckily for Gaara, while it might have worked on any normal ninja, trying to surprise an Uchiha isn't easy.

Before anyone could blink, sword met shield, and the shield yielded.

* * *

Temari and Kankuro both could only stand there wide eyed and dumbfounded as Sasuke's sword pierced the, until now, impenetrable sand sphere. Of course, they'd been worried before when Gaara had actually invoked its creation, since that was only done when he was about to use the **Tanuki Neiri no Jutsu** to unleash the Shukaku. But even so, as worried as they had been, they were now even more so.

Gaara had never been interrupted during the transition phase of the transformation process; the phase when his consciousness is switching with the Shukaku's. And as if to add insult to injury (or perhaps the other way around), Sasuke had just pierced Gaara's "absolute defense" with a sword that clearly had the range (and apparent piercing power) to hurt Gaara.

"Holy shit…! He pierced the sand wall!"

"This is bad," Temari said through gritted teeth, though she admittedly realized it was an understatement. Gaara wasn't supposed to try to turn into the Shukaku until the signal had been given. But Gaara had clearly thrown caution to the wind in his fight with Sasuke; he was just too bloodthirsty for his own good. Worse yet, he was now, in all likelihood, injured, perhaps even critically. Gaara was _essential _to their plan, and she could even go so far as to say that without Gaara, there _was no_ plan.

"Temari, what do we do?! We can't get through this without Gaara! If he doesn't play his part the whole plan is for nothing!"

"I know that already! What do you want me to do about it?! After all this has never happened before…!" She trailed off as the sand below began to crack, break apart, and melt away.

* * *

Sasuke watched carefully as the sphere seemed to shift, if only slightly, in response (or perhaps shock) to the sudden intrusion into its space. However, even as the shield seemed to deliberate on its predicament, Sasuke knew he hadn't missed; there had been a meaty sound as his sword pierced flesh within. He might not have known what he hit, but he knew he hit _something._

"Got you," he smirked victoriously. With his newfound powers, Gaara's so called "absolute defense" was completely worthless. As long as he could keep a charged Chidori-blade, he was virtually unstoppable.

Granted though, he wasn't capable of using the Chidori many times, nor in quick succession. Not to mention its incredible energy requirements.

Sasuke was about to withdraw his Zanpakuto from its sandy sheath when it suddenly stuck fast, followed by a blood curdling scream from within.

"WAAHHH! B-BLOOD! MY… MY BLOOD!"

Knowing how cold and merciless Gaara had proven to be, hearing this sudden reaction _highly_ disturbed him. Planting his foot against the sand wall, he pulled on the hilt of his sword, finally managing to wrench it free.

No sooner had he done so than a wicked, clawed hand followed it, covered in blackened spines and veins. Sasuke's eyes widened as he tried to deduce what the strange undulating mass might be. It certainly wasn't _sand._ Like an undulating noodle, the strange limb slowly snaked its way back into the dome of sand, vanishing within. Sasuke's eyes narrowed as his enhanced vision tried to penetrate the darkness inside the sphere. What he saw sent an immediate shiver down his spine. With a terrifying roar that reverberated throughout the arena, Sasuke felt his legs weaken beneath him, almost causing him to fall onto his back.

'_Those eyes… what the hell were those eyes?'_ No sooner had he wondered those very words when, unbeknownst to him, a heavy blanket of soft feathers began to descend from the sky.

* * *

'_Looks like Gaara's in a bit of a pinch. I suppose now's as good a time as any…' _the hooded and masked figure thought as he raised his hands together.

'_**Nehan Shōja no Jutsu.**__'_

* * *

Naruto watched gleefully as Sasuke dealt a blow right through Gaara's seemingly impenetrable shield. Indeed, everyone around him seemed to be on the edge of their seats, wondering how the attack turned out. Had it struck a critical organ? Had it only shallowly missed? But as he continued to watch, despite himself, he couldn't resist a sudden drowsiness. His eyes suddenly felt heavy and fought to close, the edges of his vision blurred by floating white feathers. But even as he fought it, wondering how he could even think of sleeping at a time like this, he felt so… at peace. Like falling asleep was what he wanted more than anything on earth. A peaceful, quiet sleep…

* * *

Sarutobi felt the hair on the back of his neck prickle, his eyes turning left, only to meet another pair looking back at him.

"Kazekage…"

The masked man smirked, presumably, under the mask. "Shall we begin, Hokage-sama?"

Without warning, the Kazekage's aids leapt to action.

* * *

Slowly, the dome began to collapse around Gaara, the sand falling like rushing water around him. The Sand nin clutched his left shoulder tightly, blood pouring from the deep wound.

"I knew it! A wound! The cocoon was broken while he was still incomplete!" Temari worriedly exclaimed. "T-this has never happened before!"

"What do we do…?" Kankuro asked, though he already knew she didn't have an answer.

However, before either of them could come to their own conclusions, they noticed the light, feathery blanket falling from the sky in front of them. _'The signal!'_

Knowing their orders, they wasted no time in vacating the waiting box and leaping down into the arena, breaking for Gaara's wounded form. They were at his side in an instant, though not too close, lest he forget who was friend and foe. Baki was already there.

"Gaara, the plan…" Baki began, but just as soon quieted. Gaara was on his knees, clutching his head tightly.

"Hey, what do you guys think you're doing? This is my match, wait your turns."

They nearly jumped at the sound of Sasuke's voice as he stepped up to them, only to be stopped by Genma as he stepped between him and the four Sand ninja. "Consider your match canceled. Looks like the Sand doesn't play well with others, am I right?" he asked pointedly at Baki, who eyed him, but turned back to Gaara.

"Fool…! Trying to transform into your complete form before the signal!"

Temari cautiously lowered herself to examine her younger brother. "He's experiencing the side-effects… it's impossible to proceed now," she announced grimly, looking back up to Baki as if begging for him to say she was wrong.

"So what are we supposed to do now?! Do it without Gaara?!" Kankuro cried. If Gaara was out of commission, the whole plan was practically shot! Sure they might still succeed, but Gaara was the linchpin of the whole operation.

Baki gritted his teeth and glared hard at Gaara. He already knew what the answer was, though he hated to be the one to decide it. If Gaara couldn't play his role, there was no point in keeping him around.

"Abort the mission," he announced at last, his words hissing through clenched teeth. "You guys take Gaara and retreat."

"What about you?" questioned Temari as Kankuro lifted his brother by the arm with a curse.

"I'll join the battle. Go!"

Temari nodded and left, Kankuro following an instant later, both of them leaping over the walls of the arena with their cargo between them.

"Hey!" Sasuke cried after them, grabbing his sword and following them over the wall. "Get back here!"

* * *

Kakashi and Jiraiya reacted immediately, their eyes instinctively searching for the jutsu's caster. "Jiraiya-sama, this is…!"

"Yeah, genjutsu." Simultaneously they raised their hands in the tiger seal, breaking the effect of the illusion.

"Gin, are you alright?" Kakashi questioned as his silver-haired compatriot stood and looked around, as if in a daze.

"Seem so. Guess 'llusions don't work on th' dead," he commented idly, casting a glance to Rangiku in front of him. She similarly stood unaffected by whatever technique was being cast on the whole arena.

"Kakashi-sensei, what's going on?!" came Sakura's bewildered cry.

The one-eyed man looked at her in praising. "Ah, looks like Kurenai already taught you how to deflect genjutsu. Well done." He turned his attention back to the manifesting enemies around them. "Sakura, take Naruto and Hinata and get them someplace safe."

"W-what about the others?!" she cried, even as she tried lifting both classmates over her shoulders.

"As long as they're asleep they'll be fine. They aren't a threat to the enemy. Besides, we'll stand guard here until the enemy's been mopped up."

He was about to continue when a bright purple column of light shot into the sky atop the Kage observation box. "That's barrier ninjutsu…!" he gritted his teeth beneath his mask as he peered inside the walls of the rectangular prison. "Gin, our targets are the Sound and Sand ninja. They've started a war, and we're going to give it to them! Rangiku-san, defend the ministers on the upper level!"

Both Shinigami nodded to him. Though they were far more experienced than either of the two humans with them, this was a whole other breed of war. In the past, they'd fought strict one-on-one battles, but in this world, it seemed that double or triple-teaming was the way to go; dirty, underhanded tactics that would most likely be looked down upon by the Soul Society elite.

'_I've got to get used to the ways of this world,'_ Rangiku thought to herself. Though she detested the concept of being ordered around by a human, she had to remember unlike the humans she was used to; these were far more capable of both defending themselves, and attacking others, even spiritual beings like herself. Moreover, these humans were born and bred in a world of war and espionage. They weren't some powerless hunks of meat she had to make sure to defend at the cost of her own life.

Below them, a dozen or so enemy shinobi were forming up around a hooded and masked individual. "Looks like we have a traitor or two in our midst," Jiraiya commented idly as he propped a foot on the back of the seat in front of him.

"Probably more than that. If there're this many Sound already here, then it's likely there are also tons of Sand hiding as well. Be on your guard."

Sakura ducked her head down as a Sound ninja leapt over her, narrowly missing her ear with a kunai. Before he could rebound and return, a flash of light swung out from Gin's sheath as he impaled the ninja to the wall.

"T-thank you, Ichimaru-sensei!" she nearly screeched as she dragged her two classmates up the stairs and to the wall the now dead shinobi was slumped against. "We'll run interference fer ya. When yer ready, head towar's Sasuke's location."

"B-but where is Sasuke-kun?! Which way did he go?"

"They'll be able ta find 'im, just wake 'em up." And with that he leapt away, intercepting an enemy and throwing him to the ground before following after.

Sakura grunted as she dropped the two genin to the ground, falling to her knees and catching her breath. However, she quickly put aside her sudden fatigue and placed her hands on Naruto and Hinata's foreheads, tapping them with a pulse of chakra. _'Kai!'_

Almost immediately they opened their eyes, blinking in confusion. Naruto sat up instantly, shaking his head and looking around at all the chaos that was now forming around him. "What the hell…? I fall asleep for one minute and everything goes to shit."

"N-No, I think it was an enemy genjutsu," Hinata correctly deduced as she too lifted herself off the ground, rubbing her eyes drowsily.

Sakura nodded in confirmation. "Someone used a genjutsu on the whole arena, and now there are Sand and Sound ninja everywhere. Ichimaru-sensei said that as soon as you two were up we should go after Sasuke-kun, though he didn't say which way he went…" she said askance.

Naruto stood up slowly, testing his limbs. "Sand and Sound? What the hell is going on here?"

"I think it's a war," Sakura said, ducking as a kunai whizzed overhead. "Everyone's fighting each other so…" she let the obvious explanation trail off.

Naruto frowned. _'War, huh?'_ he looked around as the few Konoha shinobi fought hand-to-hand, tooth and claw against their opponents, blood and screams filling the air as death was dealt on both sides.

Hinata looked around nervously, almost terrifyingly. "W-war…?!" she stuttered out. _'So this is war…?'_ she wondered as she watched the bloodbath form around them. She'd long since mentally prepared herself for the day she'd be forced to take a life, but she'd never anticipated that today might be that day.

Naruto's eyes narrowed, now absent their usual jovial light. Their darkened ringed forms glared forward absently, looking at nothing yet seeing everything. "Hinata, follow me. Sakura-san, you stay here."

Sakura looked at him as if he were crazy. "Stay here?!" she parroted. "Are you insane?! I… I can't do anything on my own!" she painfully admitted. "If I stay here alone I'll die! B-besides, Ichimaru-sensei said to go together!"

Naruto eyed her for a moment before sighing. "…Fine. _Both_ of you then, follow me." With that he rushed forward and leapt out of the stands and into the carnage-filled arena, a nervous Hinata and bewildered Sakura behind him. However, as Sakura slid down the wall and hit the ground, she noticed that the blonde individual she was following wasn't the only one in her line of sight. In fact there was another one fighting right in front of her.

* * *

Naruto didn't need to turn his eyes away from the Sand ninja in front of him to know Hinata and his clone were coming up from the side. He parried a kunai strike with his sword before slashing back at his opponent, missing the vital spot but hitting flesh nonetheless. Injured, but no less mobile, the ninja leapt away, probably expecting a comrade to replace him, though any that might have done so were being handled by the many Leaf jonin elite. Naruto took the pause and allowed his friends to catch up.

"Naruto?! How come you're awake? Why did only your clone fall asleep?" Sakura questioned as she approached.

"Are you alright Naruto-kun?" Hinata questioned as well.

Naruto gave a nod to Hinata and addressed Sakura. "The genjutsu was only for the spectators. Everywhere else was unaffected, that include the waiting box where the contestants were." He turned back to Hinata. "I've got a fix on Sasuke's location! He's chasing after Sabaku no Gaara and his team. We need to catch up as quickly as possible!"

He was about to leap off when Hinata' caught the sleeve of the jacket tied about his waist. "But what about here? Shouldn't we help here first?" she questioned worriedly.

"Ichimaru-sensei said to go after Sasuke-kun right?" Sakura asked Hinata almost accusingly. "So that's what we should do!"

"You kids aren't going anywhere!" came the gruff voices of four Sand and two Sound shinobi as they landed across from them. "We've got orders to bring you two back with us," one said, pointing to Naruto and Hinata. "No one said anything about Pinky, so if you don't want to die, then scram."

Sakura stumbled back in fright while Hinata clutched Naruto's shirt for comfort. "Naruto-kun…"

Naruto's eyes narrowed at the six enemy ninja in front of him for several seconds. "I can't imagine those are standing orders."

"Just issued after your match," the second Sound nin said with a nod. "Preferably alive, and regardless of how strong you are versus one genin, you're up against six jonin level ninja now. Even if by some miracle you _do_ beat us, there's no way either of you're walking away from this alive."

Naruto glared at them darkly. "And what's the goal, huh? Take my DNA? Use her to spawn your own Hyuuga army? Dissect us and discover the secrets of our eyes?"

He felt Hinata stiffen next to him at the mention of "spawning a Hyuuga army" her mind knowing full well what that entailed.

"Honestly? Who knows? I don't, and I also don't care. So just come along quietly, and we'll make sure nobody hurts ya." Replied the first Sound nin nonchalantly.

Naruto felt a small smirk split his face for a moment before it disappeared. "Well, at least your honest. Regardless…" a sudden pressure hit the battlefield, emanating from Naruto's still form. His clothes fluttered as the powerful waves of energy whirled about him like the wind. "You're wrong about two things."

The jonin blinked at him as they too began to gather their chakra.

"Firstly, you're a terrible liar," the blonde said with a dark smirk at the one who said he didn't care.

The man smirked back in what might have (if not for the mask) been a lecherous grin.

"And secondly, it's _five_ versus six."

The men blinked in confusion as Naruto smirked wickedly. "The hell're you talkin' about?"

Naruto raised his hands and snapped through four simple seals before clapping his hands together. Hinata, recognized what he was doing immediately. "Naruto-kun, you're really going to…?!"

Of the few things Naruto kept secret, she was privy to most of them, including the dirtier secret that when Naruto had stolen the Forbidden Scroll at the behest of Mizuki, he's subsequently and sequentially copied down a large portion of its contents before he'd been interrupted. What he _had_ copied he kept in a very secret place not even she knew where. But he _had_ given her a copy of it, and told her to learn some of techniques; not so she could use them per say, but so that should Naruto ever use them, and they backfire, she'd be able to be best prepared to help him.

However, there was one particular technique that had caught her eye while studying the scroll, a technique she _had also_ learned.

"**Kuchiyose…**"

Naruto slammed his hands against the ground hard enough to rupture the earth beneath him.

"…**EDO TENSEI!**"

Without warning the ground erupted in front of them, sending dirt and dust into the air, the force of which caused the six opposing men to shield their eyes from the debris. "Wha-?!"

When next they opened their eyes, their view of the three young genin was eclipsed by the sight of two tarnished and dirtied caskets, both standing upright and facing towards them.

"What the hell…?"

A loud creaking sound sounded out as the lids to both caskets fell to the ground, revealing their contents.

"Wait… those are-!" the Suna nin didn't get a chance to finish his sentence before his neck was sliced wide open, the blue-clad figure that had just a moment earlier been in the coffin now behind him, a bloodied kunai in hand. As the other five turned to address the sudden threat a pair of senbon slammed cleanly into the skulls of two more of them.

Suddenly registering the imminent danger they were in, the remaining three leapt away, putting a good twenty meters between themselves and their new opponents.

"The fuck was that?!" one of the two remaining Sand ninja exclaimed with evident fear. "How the fuck should I know?!" the other responded. However, the Sound ninja, looked at the two new figures hard. Though he recognized them, he couldn't for the life of him understand how they were _there. _They should be dead after all.

The taller of the two figures looked around, as if in a daze, before his gaze fell on the mop of blonde hair nearly hidden behind the two caskets he and his partner had emerged from.

"Oi…" he began slowly as he were unsure of what he was saying. "You're that Naruto brat… from the bridge…"

Naruto stood from his squatting position and nodded, rounding the now empty caskets and approaching them.

"Naruto…-san?" the other began his expression clearly perplexed.

"That's right," Naruto began, almost sadly. "I resurrected you both," he said with a strange smile. "Hope you don't mind."

The taller of the two blinked as he looked down at his own body. "Resurrected…? Why…?"

Naruto opened his mouth to explain before he, as if he'd forgotten something, reached into his equipment pouch and pulled out a scroll. Opening it, and unsealing a pair of kunai, he quickly replaced the scroll and stepped up to the two figures. As if frozen, they stood there as he inserted the kunai into their skulls. The reaction was immediate; an explosion of steam and color exploded from their bodies. Their darkened skin brightened back to a healthier color and their decomposing flesh seemed to repair itself as if of its own accord.

"It's a technique called the Edo Tensei. It allows me to bring back people from the dead. Since you're already dead, you can't die again, and you have unlimited chakra. The kunai I just put in your heads had special command talismans attached to them. You should be able to move on your own, right?"

The smaller one looked at his arm and rolled it this way and that, nodding. "It's true, I have command of my own body."

The taller one looked down at himself and grimaced. "Summoning the dead to do your dirty work… I thought you had more character than that, kid."

A sorrowful look appeared on Naruto's face. "Trust me, I'm not too keen on the idea either. But our village needs help now, and I know I can rely on you two."

"You mean besides the fact that you can make us do whatever you want?" the smaller one said, trying to make a joke that unfortunately fell flat.

Naruto rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Yeah… that…"

The taller one sighed in exasperated annoyance and rolled his neck. "We'll talk about the _terms_ of our summoning later. Since we're here now, I guess there's no point in arguing." He turned and faced the three remaining men.

"I'm assuming those guys are the enemies?" he asked, to which Naruto have a nod. "Suna and Oto just launched a surprise attack during the chunin exams. Sasuke went after one of the Sand ninja who was also his opponent. Tou-san said to go after them both, so…"

The man nodded and took a few steps forward. "Well, looks like you guys picked the wrong day to be a bad guy. Let's go, Haku."

The smaller one nodded and stepped up to his senior's side. "Hai, Zabuza-san."

Naruto smirked at the two before the grabbing Hinata and flashing over to Sakura and **Shunpo**-ing away.

* * *

"**Just turn around and kill them already!" **The voice in his head screamed. He winced and tried to ignore it. Didn't it know that that was what he _wanted_ to do?!

"**It's just one single human! Kill the girl and then kill him! And kill the other one too!"**

But Gaara brushed it off. He'd have no entertainment from killing those two who called him "brother." They were an annoyance, nothing more. Hardly worth killing. Could he do it if wanted? Yes. _Would_ he do it if he wanted? _Definitely _yes.

"**Just fuck the bitch and turn around! Kill 'em all you shit-faced bastard!"**

Gaara briefly wondered if the voice was being literal or not. Sometimes he never really knew. Though even if it was, he'd get no pleasure out of the carnal action. What was the point anyway? There was no feeling that compared to the bliss of erasing someone's existence completely.

Besides… _'Uchiha Sasuke… '_ he had more interesting prey to attend to. _'Yes… you will make me feel _truly_ alive!'_

"_I looked for her everywhere, but she'd vanished." Hitsugaya recounted as he kneeled before the first division captain-commander. His head was bowed and his voice was even, but even the least observant of the ten individuals present could detect a hint of insecurity in his voice. Which was understandable of course; if their vice-captains had suddenly vanished from under their noses as Tōshirō claimed to have happened to Matsumoto Rangiku. _

"_Hmm…" The old man at the head of the two columns murmured to himself quietly. "Kurotsuchi Mayuri, as the foremost knowledgeable expert on the Dangai, do you have any preliminary hypotheses regarding the current situation?"_

_The white clad captain gave a sigh and scratched his forehead. "Normally, I'd consider the disappearance of a vice-captain below me and not bother with it, but the possible correlation between the vice-captain's disappearance and the recent detection of foreign reiatsu within the Dangai intrigues me. As far as preliminary hypotheses go, I can't make any solid, sensible conclusions until I obtain first-hand data."_

"_Shall I take that as a request to investigate the situation personally?" The wizened old warrior questioned with a raised brow._

"_Of course," was the simple reply._

_The nod that came from the first division caption was slow and authoritative. "Very well. Permission granted."_

_There was a long sigh from the captain of the eighth division as he tipped his hat over his eyes. "Sheesh… we finish a war and return to mysterious disappearances… Can't seem to catch a break, can we?" He finished with a smile directed to the individual on his left._

_Said individual, Ukitake Jūshirō, simply opted not to respond, and instead continued to stare that the bowed back of the head of the tenth division. "Are we certain the Dark Ones, or others like them aren't responsible for this? As beings who knew the Dangai extensively, is it not prudent to assume-?"_

"_-Assume?" the voice of the twelfth division captain interrupted, his eyes finding those of the white-haired man. "It's never prudent, nor safe, to assume anything. Simply because we know of a single individual, or group of individuals who might potentially be involved in the current situation, doesn't mean it's correct to believe they are responsible."_

_Ukitake narrowed his eyes at the make-up wearing captain, but didn't interrupt him._

"_Besides, from previous research I've conducted, the reiatsu currently infesting the Dangai is so far foreign to that of the Dark Ones we've come across that I couldn't even dream they would be involved, though there is always the miniscule chance…"_

* * *

_He shrugged and waved off his own comment. "However this is just off the top of my head. If you want to blindly speculate while I do my work, you're welcome to, but until I've completed my analysis, there's hardly any point in continuing this conversation."_

"_Is that a hint of impatience I detect in your voice?" came the eerily soothing voice of the fourth division captain, her slight smirk showing her confidence that it in fact was._

_Mayuri frowned at her. "Of course it is. Your incessant conversation is keeping me from my work; naturally, anyone would be impatient."_

"_Then let us not keep you from your work any longer," Kuchiki Byakuya, head of the sixth division coolly commented as he turned and made his way out. "We are not the only ones keeping others from their work," he added with a pointed look towards the scientist captain._

_Mayuri gave a "tch" and glared at the back of the retreating captain. Before he could respond however, the voice of the captain-commander sounded again. "Very well, from this moment forward, only assigned personnel will be authorized to access the Dangai, until such a time a Kurotsuchi Mayuri has found the cause of the strange reiatsu… and the disappearance."_

_The meeting ended with the bang of the old man's cane on the wooden floor._

Though that had been the way it went down, Toshiro didn't appreciate being kept out of the loop as Mayuri and his lieutenant Nemu poked around the Dangai, along with several members from the scientist's division. Sometimes they were silent, while other times they're speech was so thick with science and technical babble he couldn't understand a word of it. However, he knew it wouldn't be wise to interrupt the twelfth division captain without due cause (like reminding him what they were there for, for instance).

"And you say you were about this far in when you stopped to investigate?"

Toshiro perked up at the realization that Mayuri was talking to _him_ now. "Yes, about this far. We detected that this was where the leak was strongest; I went one way, she went another. Only a few seconds after we parted, I lost track of her reiatsu."

Mayuri scratched his chin idly. "Hmm… it does seem as though this is where the greatest condensation of reiatsu is located, but I don't see how a vice-captain's reiatsu can vanish as instantaneously as you claim is did." He turned aside and eyed his own vice-captain. "Nemu, bring up that gear we brought along."

"Hai, Mayuri-sama."

* * *

Sasuke stood away from the red-headed boy and his sister. He eyed them both carefully. _'It's a good thing Shino showed up when he did… Taking care of that puppet user helped me catch up quickly.'_ Poor Shino… in all honesty, he'd completely forgotten about the Aburame when the match had suddenly been interrupted.

"Temari… put me down…" came Gaara's voice, a mere groan compared to his usual tone.

"But Gaara-"

"I SAID GET LOST!" He roared, his right arm lashing out and sending the fan-user crashing into the hard truck of a tree, his cold eyes burning with the desire to slaughter.

Temari hit the tree with a harsh crack, her echoing scream of pain indicative of something snapping inside of her. Gaara paid her no heed.

Neither did Sasuke. If he could claim to know anything about the relationship between the three siblings, it was that they were deathly afraid of Gaara, and for good reason. "You're not a very nice guy are you?" he asked rhetorically, not expecting an answer from the unstable sand-user.

"Uchiha Sasuke…" said user began, surprising the Uchiha. "I told you before… You have the same eyes I do… eyes that seek to prove your own worth to the world… to prove that your very existence has meaning beyond simply living. You know the pain I do… the emptiness, the loneliness…"

Sasuke's eyes narrowed at the boy. Clearly he was having a moment of mental clarity… or perhaps his insanity was a conscious choice?

"You're eyes are filled with hated and death… Just like mine, they tell me how badly you want to kill the one who put you through this empty hell…"

Sasuke nearly flinched at the sudden onslaught of memories from _that_ night so many years ago. The blood on the streets and the walls… The burning houses and bodies… The lone figure of the man who was his brother, standing amidst all the carnage, staring at him, as if daring him to do anything other than sit there and watch.

"You… you want to determine if you _deserve_ to live… you wonder if you're really stronger… stronger than the one you're dying to kill!"

A sudden heat surged in Sasuke's gut as he recalled the face of the man who slaughtered his family… the face of the man who _was _his family.

Gaara cried out, gripping the sides of his head with both hands as dark black lines crawled up the right side of his body, like poison in the vein. "Grrr… Graaahh!" He growled out painfully as the gourd on his back began to shift, the sand it was comprised of sliding down to cover his body.

Sasuke's eyes widened as his skin suddenly took on a gritty, sand-like texture, but unlike when he used his sand-armor. No, this time his whole body began to morph, changing into something completely inhuman. Half his face took on the muddled visage of a deranged rabid raccoon, while his right arm grew vicious looking hooked claws that jutted out at odd angles.

Presently Gaara's cried died away and he opened his eyes. In his right was a strange four-starred pattern that didn't belong on the eyes of any normal person, surrounded by a sea of black sclera.

"Now…" Gaara raised himself up, roaring at Sasuke. "LET ME FEEL ALIVE!"

Sasuke felt his eyes close as he felt the pure vehemence roll off of the _creature_ in front of him, and it in turn stoke his own, long-since-cold fires of hatred. The burning heat in his gut, the euphoric feeling of nostalgia, the fires of rage…

"…I owe you thanks, Gaara of the Sand…"

Gaara paused at the sudden statement.

"…You've reminded me of what I am…" Sasuke placed a hand on the sword at his hip, lifting the gleaming blade from its scabbard. "I'm nothing more than a vessel; a container that holds all the vengeance of my clan. I am anger… I am hatred…"

The blade lifted cleanly from its sheath, twisting around and pointing at the demon of sand in front of him. "I will kill you, and reaffirm my ambition to kill my brother and avenge my family.

Sasuke felt a smirk split his face as he allowed his reservoir of power burst from within him. "And if on the off chance I fail, just remember…" A brief image of a white, masked face flashed in his mind. His eyes narrowed. "…Without fail, another monster is on its way."

* * *

Kakashi winced as a kunai nicked his shoulder, even though he should have been able to dodge it. _'Damn, I need to pay more attention!'_ With a whirl, he flung another two blades back at his attacker, one being blocked, the other sinking deep into the man's temple. Kakashi allowed himself a short second's breather as he gathered himself. _'I can't be worrying about those three right now…'_ He turned his gaze toward the purple rectangular cage atop the Kage-box that held the impossible challenge of containing the Hokage _and_ Orochimaru. _'That's right… Otogakure is Orochimaru's village… this whole plot is part of his revenge on the Leaf.'_

Despite the dismaying sensation he felt at what cost of life the village must have _already_ paid by the surprise attack, he allowed himself a hidden smile at the thought of the Third Hokage fighting his former pupil. _'Even so, Orochimaru has another thing coming if he thinks he can take out the Hokage so easily.'_

If there was even a chance of Orochimaru winning, it would be at too high a cost for the Sannin's preference. _'That man _is_ the Professor after all.'_

"Kakashi, behind you!"

Jiraiya's warning was too late to Kakashi's ears; he grunted in pain as blood splattered over his mask , falling backwards over the row of seats behind him. He landed with an "oof!" his right hand sporting a nasty little senbon right through the palm. _'Even when I tell myself to pay attention…'_ he admonished himself silently.

But before he could react, his eyes spotted the form of an enemy Sound ninja above him… falling?

He rolled to the side as the body of said shinobi toppled over limply, sliding down the rows of seats until it came to a stop. Kakashi's eyes widened as he spied a senbon (identical to the one in his hand, he noted) also imbedded solidly in the enemy ninja's skull. _'Friendly fire…?'_ Had he been hit by the same attack mean to hit him?

But before he could react, a second enemy materialized in front of him, blades in both hands and charging. This time however Kakashi was ready; he pulled out the senbon in his hand and blocked the first strike, then the second, but before a third attack could be tried, Kakashi was shocked by a _third_ figure landing atop the second, pinning the Otogakure ninja to the ground through his neck with a wicked kunai.

"Too slow!"

The attack landed solidly, along with the body as both killer and killed hit the floor, the killer crouched like a pouncing tiger over its prey.

At first Kakashi blinked, thinking his eyes were deceiving him for a moment. However, as he blinked second and a third time, he realized something was very,_ very_ wrong. "Za-Zabuza?!"

The fellow masked man looked up from his kill, only to instantly blast past the stunned Cyclops, kunai slashing the throat of a Sand nin trying to sneak up from behind.

"What's wrong with you Kakashi? You were never this slow when we fought before," he decried humorously as he let the body of his new victim fall from his grasp.

"Zabuza… h-how are you…?"

"…Alive? I'm not," he stated simply as he idly reached up and pulled a jutting kunai out of his ribcage. "Not technically anyway. Your stupid little student summoned us back from the dead."

Kakashi blinked in shock. "Naruto did this…?" And though he didn't say so vocally, for a brief moment in time, Kakashi's thoughts trailed off towards Gin. Gin was a god of death, and Naruto was his student… did that mean that both had the ability to summon the dead back to life? He remembered specifically when Gin saved Hinata's life by pouring his own energy into her after their first battle with the Hidden Mist nin.

"What'd he call it…? Edo Tensei or something like that," explained Zabuza, dashing Kakashi's sudden theories. However, that was an even _greater_ revelation to the co-sensei than what he _had_ been thinking.

"Edo Tensei?! You mean the Second Hokage's most forbidden jutsu?!"

The zombified man in front of him shrugged. "I guess. Hell if I know… Though I don't like the idea of summoning people back from the dead to do your dirty work, I suppose for the sake of my village I'd do the same." He looked out at those battling in the arena. "Damn brat didn't even give me my sword either."

He flexed his hand, the feeling of it without his iconic blade seeming all too foreign to him. "Whatever… He told us to protect Konoha, so I guess we don't really have a choice."

Kakashi, barely getting over his shock at the resurrected Zabuza (let alone the fact that Naruto allegedly used a technique long since sealed away by the Second Hokage), managed to collect himself and respond.

"'We?'" he parroted, his mind not yet up to its normal speed. His question was answered for him as another, much smaller figure landed beside them. "Zabuza-san, are you alright?"

"Fine," was his simple answer.

"Haku…!" Kakashi exclaimed with wide eyes.

The young lad turned with a not-quite-surprised smile. "Ah, Kakashi-san! I'm glad you're alright. You moved slightly in the way of my earlier attack, so I worried I might have hit you."

"Uh…" Kakashi's eyes narrowed at his bloodied hand and hid it behind his back. "Don't worry, it's just a scratch," he stated as though he were trying to make a joke, though he had a feeling it didn't work. "I… I'm just getting my head around the fact that you're alive."

"I already said I'm not. Though I suppose I'm alive enough to make sure you survive," the Demon commented as he turned around, placing the kunai in his hand back in his pouch. "What'll it say about me if you die to some no-name shinobi?"

Kakashi had the decency to smile at the man. "I suppose you'd roll over in your grave."

Zabuza grinned and brought his hands together. "I'm already rolling; **Ninpou, Kirigakure no Jutsu!**"

A thin mist gathered almost immediately as Zabuza lowered his hands. "Let's go, Haku."

"Hai," the young bishounen replied, leaping off with his master into the fray.

Kakashi watched them go before turning his head suspiciously. "You knew about this didn't you?"

Gin stepped out of the shadows of the mist, throwing a Sand ninja's body from his shoulder to the floor. "It don't matter what you think's right an' wrong; only what's right fer Naruto," he explained simply as he tapped the blunt end of Shinsō against his shoulder.

Kakashi's eyes narrowed. In that instant, he wondered if he wasn't given a rare peek into Gin's true character. Though he was what he was, a death god with no loyalty to anybody but himself, he held a very soft spot for Naruto. Of course this was obvious, but clearly it went deeper than that. Gin must have known the Edo Tensei was morally "wrong" to allow Naruto to use, and yet he _must_ have known Naruto knew it. _'For that matter, why does Gin even care for Naruto…?'_

He'd never considered that question before. Sure, he'd found the boy half-dead on the side of the road, but even so, being the Good Samaritan didn't fit with Gin's style. What's more, beyond getting Naruto to a hospital, Gin had no apparent motivation for taking care of the boy, let alone acting as his adopted father.

Something about Naruto must have drawn Gin to himself, that much was now clear to Kakashi, though he didn't dare let the thought _'could he be doing this to obtain the Kyuubi?' _enter his head; Gin truly _did_ care for Naruto, and Kakashi knew that for a fact.

_And _Kakashi had been beholden to the strange dynamic of Gin's "girlfriend," though calling her such might be a bit inaccurate.

There was just so much he didn't understand about Gin, or his goals for that matter. If he had a chance in the future, he'd have to ask the man personally. _'For now, just focus on surviving this war.'_

"They're called forbidden jutsu for a reason you know."

Gin gave a nonchalant shrug as his buxom blonde lady-friend ran up the stairs to meet them. "Gin something's wrong, there's a large amount of reiatsu coming from the west! Isn't that where the kids are going?!"

If Gin's eyes weren't permanently closed, he might have blinked in surprise. As it was, his head turned toward the direction Sasuke had pursued Gaara and his smile dimmed only slightly. "Don' worry. Whatever it is, they c'n handle it. _We've_ got ta make sure they got a village to come back to."

Kakashi frowned as his priorities went back to their correct order. "Right."

"An' Kakashi," Gin continued, making sure he had the Sharingan user's attention. "The world ain't always black an' white; sometimes it's orange 'n' blue."

Kakashi said nothing as he watched Gin turn away.

"Let's go, Rangiku."

She gave a sharp nod and followed after him.

* * *

"So, Sasuke is your goal…" deduced the Hokage, his voice hoarse and his breath ragged. "You want to possess his body, and the Sharingan along with it."

Orochimaru grinned. "That's the idea anyway, though it's looking harder and harder to choose as time goes on."

"You mean Uzumaki Naruto, don't you?"

Orochimaru sighed and closed his eyes. "Yes… both Naruto-kun and Sasuke-kun possess eyes I've long coveted. Honestly if I had a choice, I don't know which one I'd choose."

Sarutobi raised an eyebrow at his former student. "You're saying you _don't_ have a choice? That's unlike you."

Orochimaru shrugged. "It's true that if I were to choose logically, I'd want the Rinnegan, but there's still a part of me that longs for the Sharingan. Regardless, I've already given Sasuke my mark. He'll come to me sooner or later for power; power to kill Itachi; power we _all_ know the Leaf can't give him."

Sarutobi's eyes narrowed at his student. "You're relying a bit too much on the darkness in Sasuke's heart aren't you?" he asked with a grin. "I think we _both_ know that that darkness has been brightened beyond corruption by now."

Orochimaru was silent for several seconds. The undead bodies of the First and Second Hokage stood nearby, waiting for the Sannin's mental command to continue the fighting.

"I suppose you're right…" Orochimaru admitted at last, his grin skewed strangely and eyes closed in resignation. "As long as he has those two with him, revenge is only a dark thought in the back of his mind."

His eyes opened suddenly, and a cold chill ran down Sarutobi's spine. "But what would happen if old wounds were suddenly reopened? What would happen if Itachi suddenly became Sasuke's _only_ priority?"

Hiruzen clenched his teeth. "What exactly are you saying?"

"I'm just asking a simple question," he offered. "Do you really think Sasuke could stand to stay as he is when he finds out how utterly weak he is compared to his brother? I've fought with Itachi myself. What hope would Sasuke have?"

Sarutobi felt a sigh escape his lips as he continued to gather chakra. "You still don't get it, Orochimaru…"

The Sannin's eyes narrowed at his former master.

"All your life you've relied on your own power… your own strength, and all your life you've missed the bigger picture."

"And what is this 'bigger picture,' Sarutobi-sensei?" Orochimaru asked, leaning on the Kusanagi blade at his side.

"Make no mistake, Orochimaru," Sarutobi began, grinning victoriously, "no one is born into this world alone!"

Orochimaru let out a sigh of his own at his old master. "You really _have_ grown old, Sarutobi-sensei…"

* * *

"Holy shit…" Naruto exclaimed as he looked on at the massive form of Gaara's so-called inner demon. "What the hell is he…?"

Hinata held Sasuke steady as he rested against a tree, the crawling, flame-like black marks tattooing his entire left side, beginning to spread over his right. "T-there… I loosened him up for you," the Uchiha said with a smirk as Hinata checked him over briefly.

"Gee, thanks," Naruto grimaced as he a stabbing pain shot through his temples. "Gah, what the hell is going on…?!"

Ever since the giant sand-creature appeared on their way to meet up with Sasuke, Naruto's head hadn't stopped pulsing in pain.

"... more importantly," he said as he tried, in vain, to rub away the pain, "what exactly am I supposed to do with that?"

The giant creature in front of him raised a massive paw into the air, causing Naruto to start. "Scatter!"

His cry was immediately responded to as Hinata quickly grabbed Sasuke's limp form and Shunpo-ed away, just in time for the great paw to hit the ground with a resounding crash.

"You fools! I'll kill all of you, one by one until there's no one left!"the demonized voice of Gaara echoed through the forest.

Naruto landed on the branch of a tree away from Hinata in hopes that Gaara would focus on him. In the brief interaction he'd had with the sand-user, he'd never shown any visible interest in Hinata, and he hoped that with Sasuke now unable to fight, Gaara would seek for his twisted sense of living in himself.

"Come on you fat bastard! I'm standing right here!" he shouted up at the creature.

"Shut up and die!"

Another swipe took out a large amount of trees, sending splinters and wooden shrapnel flying throw the air. Naruto leapt up to the tops of the trees, landing on an unsteady branch as he glared at the monstrous tanuki.

"Leave my family out of this, monster!"

"Don't lie to my face! You're a monster too!"Gaara replied, startling Naruto with his proclamation. "**Fūton, Daitoppa!**"

Gaara suddenly inhaled, and with a pound to his stomach, released a giant sphere of air directly at Naruto.

'_Holy shit! That thing's got an enormous amount of chakra in it!'_ Naruto realized as his Rinnegan eyes saw the energy-saturated attack.

Naruto braced himself and faced his palms forward. "**Hadō no Gojūhachi, Tenran!**"

The wave of wind shot forward, impacting against Gaara's, only to be instantly broken as the opposing wind technique blasted right through.

Naruto eyes widened as he raised his hands to block. He got hit by the attack full on, his body screaming in pain as he shot through the air, crashing through the forest for several hundred feet before coming to a stop.

Naruto grunted aloud as he fought to bring his hand beneath him in support. _'Damn! I didn't think a level fifty-plus spell would be broken so easily! And that's my strongest one too!'_

He raised his gaze to the tanuki towering above him. _'I guess I shouldn't be surprised though, since he's transformed into that…'_

"Is that all you have?! UZUMAKI NARUTO! I expect more from a monster like you!"

Naruto ground his teeth and shouted back, a long pacified anger forming in his gut. "Who the hell're you calling a monster, huh?!" Quickly he lifted himself from the earth and got back to his feet, drawing Shinsō from her sheath and Shunpo-ing back into the trees toward Gaara.

"I saw you!" Gaara replied, as if that was all that needed to be said. "I saw all the looks of the villagers; their looks of hatred and anger, their unspoken rage pointed at you with their eyes!"

Naruto's eyes widened at Gaara's revelation. _'The villagers…? But why…?'_

Then he remembered… He remembered that night half a year before when Mizuki tried to kill him.

"_You've been lied to by everyone!"_

Naruto nearly tripped at the phantom voice of his dead instructor.

"_You were sealed up by the Hokage you admire so much…! You ARE the Nine Tailed Fox!"_

A sudden panic rose from Naruto's chest, spreading to his limbs as he sat their frozen, unable to move.

"_No one will ever accept you!"_

"Tch…!" Naruto clenched his teeth as he remembered. _'How could I forget… what I am…?'_ he wondered to himself. _'The Kyuubi no Yoko… I… I _am_ the Nine Tailed Fox… I tried to destroy the village…'_

"You're just like me! They looked at you the same as they do at me! WE'RE BOTH MONSTERS!"

Naruto barely felt the distant rumbling of Gaara's form lumbering over to his location.

'_I… I'd forgotten them… The looks… the hate…'_ He remembered the glares… the dirty glances… pure hate-filled comments…

He'd just been so blissful when Gin returned… and when Hinata became his "One." It had all come so quick and so sudden, he'd completely forgotten everything.

His stomach felt like it was on fire. His left hand gripped his belly tightly, remembering what lay sealed inside.

'_That's right…'_ he realized, his head raising to look at the incoming demon._ '…I'm a monster too.'_

He turned his eyes slightly, feeling for Hinata's reiatsu. Like echo-location, he felt the strong pulse of her signature, alongside Sasuke's. _'Good.'_

Naruto paused for a moment, breathing in a deep lung-full of air. It smelled of forest, animals, and smoke. The slight hint of sand's neutral scent… the harsh winds caused by Gaara's technique… the rumbling tremors of his stomping feet…

'_This is reality…'_ he affirmed to himself as he stared down at his hands. _'I am a human, a shinigami, _and_ a demon.'_

He looked back up at Gaara. _'He may not be a shinigami, but he is a human… and as a human, I know what it's like to feel like a demon.'_ The light of his eyes dimmed as he remembered back to all those blissfully forgotten days of his early childhood; running from mobs, crying in corners of alleyways, fearing for his life on dark, moonless nights… His soft sobs crying to the heavens, wondering why he existed…

'_I was unwanted…'_ he let out the breath he'd been holding, _'…unloved…' _he stepped forward. _'…despised…'_

His pace picked up, each step coming quicker than the last. _'…Probably… just like you…'_

His body flickered into the sky, landing on one of Gaara's massive arms. "Let me guess, they sealed this damn thing inside you when you were born?!"

Gaara threw his arm to the side, trying to fling Naruto from it, but the blonde latched on tight.

"They cursed your name with every look they gave you?!"

He dashed up the arm, dodging the other massive paw that came from the side.

"They spurred your very existence?!"

Naruto shouted, feeling his emotions well up inside him.

"I know that feeling!" he shouted at Gaara. "I know the pain of knowing nobody loves you!"

His Rinnegan eyes narrowed at the red head as he advanced towards the head where Gaara was exposed, half-submerged in the body of the sand-construct.

"If things had gone differently, I might be just like you now!" He cried, the knowledge that he could have turned into a murder-loving killer a frightening, yet very true fact.

The sand along the arm of the monster shifted, rising and forming into smaller versions of itself, each one snarling, with wicked blades of black-tipped sand sprouting from their bodies.

Naruto growled, bringing Shinsō to bear as he clashed with the first of the manifestations. Blade met hardened sand with a resounding clang, and for a moment the sand resisted. But with a shift of weight and surge of reiatsu, Shinsō cut right through it, slicing the mini-clone in half. No sooner had he dispatched it then he was swarmed by four more.

Naruto ducked low and brought the index and middle fingers of both hands up in front of him in a cross. "**Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!**" Instantly, through a cloud of smoke, clones of himself dashed out, meeting the incoming wave of sand clones as the original raced onward.

"But I had people there for me! People who loved me, even if I didn't know it!" His Zanpakuto pulsed, in-tune with his emotions, flashing brightly in the clear, sunny sky.

"They saved me from the darkness! They _gave_ me the love I'd always wanted!"

"I love only myself!"Gaara cried out, smashing his right arm atop his left, attempting to squash the blonde. Naruto stopped on a dime, narrowly missing the crushing weight of the arm as it hit. "That's the meaning of this name my mother gave me before I killed her! To love only myself! I exist only for my own sake!"

Naruto leapt up and switched to the demon's other arm, continuing up the elbow and to the bicep. "I can't comprehend existing only for yourself!" Naruto admitted as more sand-clones manifested in front of him. "I have friends now! Family! I it's not just _my_ life anymore!" A few remaining shadow clones leapt after their creator, intercepting their mini-clone counterparts.

"That's why, even at the cost of my life, I will stop you!"

Gaara, the real body's eye twitched as he ground his teeth together. "NO ONE WILL DENY MY EXISTENCE!" he roared before bringing his hands together. "**Tanuki Neiri no Jutsu!"**

Naruto nearly stumbled, caught off guard as the sand clones suddenly fell apart, and the giant body stopped moving. _'Tanuki neiri?'_ Naruto wondered silently. _'What's he up to?'_

"_He is the container for the Ichibi, Shukaku,"_a beautiful flowing voice spoke from behind Naruto. Naruto nearly jumped as an ethereal hand gently landed on his shoulder from behind.

"Shinsō?!" Naruto exclaimed in surprise, though he quickly forced himself to get over his Zanpakuto's semi-manifestation. "What do you mean by Ichibi?"

"_In the same vein as the Kyuubi, it's a tailed beast; a Bijuu. One of only nine of its kind."_ Shinsō gazed that the creature from over Naruto's shoulder. _"The container for the Ichibi is always restless, to the point they develop insomnia. The Shukaku constantly tortures them in their dreams, meaning they never get a good night's sleep of it."_

Naruto's eyes narrowed. "That might explain why he's so insane…"

"_His insanity is born of the hatred of humans, not the Shukaku itself. Shukaku's only goal is to terrorize its host."_

"To what end?" Naruto questioned quietly, the giant beast still not having moved. "Wouldn't that hinder its host, placing them both in danger?"

"_Shukaku can only escape from its host for the brief time the host loses full consciousness. That is why he drives them on, so they will one day succumb to either him, or to pure sleep. Either way, he escapes."_

Naruto blinked. "Then… that jutsu he just used…"

"_That's right… it forces him to sleep, releasing the full might and consciousness of the Shukaku."_

As if on cue, the roar of the Shukaku echoed through the forest and beyond. With raised head, it laughed to the heavens, pure delight tangible in its voice.

"**HYAHAHAHAHA! I'm free! Finally fucking FREE!"**

It raised its hands to its side, and an ocean of san rose from the forest floor at its will.

"**Finally! The little shit let me out! I've been dyin' for some blood!"**

Naruto felt Shinsō's voice grow more worried. _"Be careful, Naruto. This isn't like anything you've faced before."_

"You sure know a lot about the situation, Shinsō," Naruto said with a grin, but was startled when Shinsō shook her head.

"_This knowledge doesn't come from me…"_ she began with a downcast expression.

"Then… who else-" Naruto was cut off mid-thought, and his question was answered. "The Kyuubi, huh?" he said with disdain. "First time he's ever helped me," he commented begrudgingly, though he smiled again. "Guess that means it must _really_ be important."

Shinsō didn't answer as the blonde stepped forward. "Now, how the hell do I stop it…?"

"_You must wake the medium before the Shukaku can cement its consciousness. Any amount of pain would be enough."_

Naruto's eyes narrowed. "Pain, huh…?" He clenched his teeth as he prepared himself. "Guess there's no two ways 'round it…" he commented idly.

The blonde's eyes glared up at the possessed form towering above him. "Sorry, buddy, but _this_ monster isn't losing any time soon."

* * *

Hinata carefully laid Sasuke out along a sturdy branch, making sure to rest his head carefully. As far as she could tell, the Uchiha had lost all control of his body, and as she stared at the curse mark covering his left side, she realized just how far Sasuke must have been pushed to end up in this state. "Sasuke-kun..." she mumbled softly as his eyes clenched in pain, various spasms rippling over his muscles.

He breathed difficultly, but managed to crack a smile and open an eye at her. "Don't give me… that look…" he panted. "I gave… that guy… hell."

"And you _got_ hell in return," she retorted, causing him to smirk painfully.

"I guess I did…" his voice trailed off and his smile dimmed. Hinata blinked as Sasuke's countenance fell abruptly, his grinning face, darkening into a deep frown. "It's not nearly enough…" she heard him mumble under his breath.

"Eh…?" she questioned in surprise. Sasuke eyed her, not realizing he'd said the words aloud. "Oh… nothing… Never mind."

Of course it was a lie.

"Sasuke-kun!"

Both were startled by Sakura's sudden cry as she leapt up to the same branch, quickly kneeling beside the Uchiha. "Are you alright Sauske-kun?!" she asked worriedly.

Sasuke merely rolled his eyes in the direction of Hinata, whose unenthused expression wordlessly stated "we didn't have a choice."

Sakura kneeled down and propped Sasuke's head on her lap, an action that wasn't wholly uncomfortable for him. "Wait, where's Naruto?" the pinkette questioned, looking this way and that.

Her question was answered by the flattening force of energy surging from beyond, loud roars and booms sounding from deeper within the forest. Hinata and Sakura both braced themselves against the intense pressure. When, after a few seconds, it subsided, they all looked in the direction it'd come from.

"W-what the hell was that?!" Sakura cried, half in a panic.

Hinata however looked worriedly in the blonde's direction. "Naruto-kun…"

Sasuke gritted his teeth. "Forget it Hinata…" he preemptively warned.

Hinata looked at him in surprised protest. "But he-"

"-Doesn't need our help!" he shouted back. He sighed and eyed the Hyuuga carefully. "Trust me… You should know best of all… that reiatsu didn't feel normal."

The look he gave her made her wonder exactly what he meant. She had little time to wonder as the ground shook beneath her, the entire forest floor quaking as a tsunami of sand smashed against it.

* * *

Naruto floated in the air, though only temporarily as the waves of sand spread out below him. "Tch, turning your whole arm into a geyser of sand? That's dirty!" He grimaced as he began his decent. With a single step of Shunpo, he'd managed to evacuate to the air, though his position hadn't gone unnoticed by the beast below.

"**FUCKING PEST!" ** The creature bellowed up at him. With a great inhale, it raised its arms above its head, fists formed in either hand.

Naruto's eyes widened as his Rinnegan witnessed the massive accumulation of chakra suddenly massing in Shukaku's gut.

And with astonishing speed, the creature slammed both arms against its bloated belly, blasting out a hurricane into the sky.

Naruto's face went white as he raised his arms in front of him. _'Shit, this is bad…!'_ All his eyes could see was the concrete wall of chakra barreling towards him.

With a rush of energy, he straightened his hands forward. "**SHINRA TENSEI!**"

The two opposing walls of energy smashed into each other, an ethereal unstoppable force meeting an invisible immoveable object.

The resounding blast of energy from the colliding forces was impressive. A wall of wind spread out in a line, severing the forest in two as it split in opposite perpendicular lines. The cacophonic windstorm billowed up and around, whipping at Naruto's clothes as he withstood the great storm.

Finally the wind died down Naruto fell to one knee, panting. "Fuckin' A… that bastard packs a punch! But how the hell am I supposed to wake that ginger up now?" He eyed the head of the Shukaku, reaching out with his senses to detect the presence of life within the construct of sand. Sure enough he found it –Gaara- buried deep within the skull.

'_There he is… Now how to get him…?'_ Of course, he already had a solution in mind, though it wouldn't be the most pleasant for Gaara.

With a blur, he drew Shinsō from her sheath, holding the blade at his side. Gathering his strength, he felt power surge through his veins, the familiar spiritual energy flowing around him as he stared straight ahead at the lumbering behemoth. "Alright… let's dance!"

With an explosion of energy, Naruto rocketed into the air, soaring straight toward the animate sculpture.

"**Get lost you pest!"**

Naruto grimaced as he dodged the massive clawed paw of the raccoon's hand. With a shout, he stabbed Shinsō into the arm, dragging it along as he flew forward, using it like an anchor to direct his movement. More mini-Shukaku rose from the flesh of the beast, the first wave too slow to catch him. The second caught up with him and he slid to a stop on the creature's arm. But he didn't stop. With a battle cry, he rushed forward, hacking and slashing at the manifestations like a whirling death machine. Never hesitating, he brought the full arsenal of his Rinnegan to bear. Splitting his left arm into two, one reformed into a missile launcher while the other rotated into a steel drill. With plumes of smoke and whirring steel, Shukaku's clone army was decimated, some before they could even form.

Naruto rushed forward, battering the front lines with missiles and diving in after with his blades. Terrible claws lashed out at him, meeting flesh and slicing through, unable to deter him.

"**Shinra Tensei!**" With a blasting force, the mob of monsters were blown away, Naruto's from speeding past.

Naruto blinked as he raced up the elbow, spying the unguarded head of the Shukaku above. _'Here we go, just reverse the weight of the pull and…'_ With an outstretched hand, Naruto reached toward the distant creature's snout, feeling his powers activate and his eyes brighten.

"**Banshō Ten'in!**"

With a blur of movement, Naruto was thrown into the air, pulling himself toward the Shukaku's forehead like a bullet.

"**GET LOST!" **With a cry, the beast threw its head back, flinging Naruto even further into the sky.

Naruto's eyes widened as his technique nearly backfired. He steadied himself as he felt himself continue to rise… perfectly above the Shukaku's form. _'Perfect.'_ With a smirk, Naruto took a deep breath, allowing calm to enter his body as he gather from the well of power within him. _'That armor's thick… I need to hit it hard to break through.'_

With a _snap, _ a second arm split off from his right, and his left arms returned to their normal form. Reversing the blade and bringing it above his head with two arms, he flung the other two out, palms facing behind him. His eyes narrowed dangerously as he aimed at the ground. "**SHINRA…**"

Shukaku recoiled as its eyes went wide, a strange chill creeping up its spine. _**'W-wait, this feeling is…!'**_

"…**TENSEI!**"

Naruto's Rinnegan blazed brightly as he descended, the blast of telekinesis firing like an invisible jet behind him, Shinsō gripped in both hands and pointed downward. "**IKOROSE, SHINSŌ!**"

With a blinding flash of and repulsion wave, the blade shot out like a beam of light, tearing through the air so fast, the giant creature didn't have time to react. The blade crashed against its hardened sand skull, shattering the shell and piercing it.

SHukaku had just enough time to register the eerily familiar aura in the air, and the stabbing pain of its host before its consciousness slowly faded to black. _**'It… it couldn't be…!'**_

Naruto held onto the hilt of Shinsō, one foot pressed against the dull edge of the blade, as supported himself while he waited for… _something_ to happen. _'I know that got him good.'_

Presently the body of sand began to lose its coloring, its "flesh" sloughing off in torrents as it fell to the forest floor. Finally, the faint spot of red appeared amidst the sand. Naruto quickly retracted his blade as he fell from the sky, landing on the top of one of the few trees that hadn't been destroyed in the devastation.

The rustling of leaves alerted him to the presence of his opponent as he crashed through the canopy, breaking several branches as he did so. Naruto quickly leapt over and caught him, sliding along the ground as he landed on the now sandy ground. With the wounded boy now in his arms, he could see the single strike he'd just inflicted had pierced straight through his shoulder, which was bleeding rather profusely at the moment.

Naruto looked down at pained face of the red-head in his arms and grimaced. The expression of pain and sorrow made Naruto's heart sink as he remembered the boy's words earlier. With a grunt, he gently laid him on the soft ground and kneeled beside him, reaching into his pouch and pulling out some white bandages. Though Gaara grunted unconsciously, Naruto carefully rolled him onto his side and began even more carefully dressing his wounds. After a few minutes, a groan from Gaara drew Naruto's attention.

"Ngh… why…?"

Naruto blinked in surprise. "Why what?"

"I'm your enemy," Gaara explained as though it was obvious. "Why would you help me…?"

Naruto's hands slowed in their work as he heard him. Gaara's eyes opened marginally to stare at the blonde.

"I… I don't really know why I want to help you. I just… do." He stated unsurely. "Although, if I _had_ to give a reason, I'd say it's because…" his eyes suddenly brightened and he returned his gaze to Gaara, a beaming smile splitting the blonde's face. "…we're the same."

Gaara's eyes widened at that. "You mean, as monsters? What does that have to do…?"

Naruto quickly shook his head. "We're not monsters. Just because we're different from others, doesn't make us evil." He leaned back and propped a knee up as he sat on his butt. "But we both know the pain of being _their_ 'monsters.'"

Gaara's eyes narrowed in confusion. "What are you saying…?"

Naruto smiled wistfully as he stared at the blue sky. "I'm saying I understand you. You said it earlier, right? I'm a monster like you. "

"Naruto!"

Naruto turned at Hinata's voice as she landed several feet away, jogging to reach his side. Behind her was Sasuke, supported by Sakura.

"Are you alright Naruto-kun?" she asked as she kneeled at his side.

Naruto gave her a smile and nodded. "I'm fine, don't worry. More importantly, you're better with medicine than me," he commented as he turned his eyes toward Gaara. "Would you help patch him up for me?"

Hinata started at his request and hesitated for a few seconds before eventually nodding. "I-if you're sure…"

Naruto gave her a reassuring smile and nodded, so she got to work.

Gaara immediately made to resist her help but a sharp pain in his shoulder screamed at him not to. He winced with a sharp intake of breath and his left arm reached over to his wounded limb. However, to his shock, his hand was forcefully held away from the injury. His teal eyes found Hinata's pale orbs as she stared at him sternly. His body went still as he saw the emotions in her eyes. If there was one thing he'd become adept at during his short life, it was reading the emotions behind a person's actions. Oddly, here was a short, timid girl who he knew wouldn't stand a chance against him in a fight, yet she was practically tempting him to kill her with her commanding expression.

'_Does she think that just because I'm weak now that she can take advantage of me?!'_ He mentally raged. _'Fuck her…! I'll fucking kill-'_

"P-please, let me help you."

Her words alone meant nothing to him, but her tone stunned him silent. Her tone was quiet, hopeful, sincere… The last time he'd heard a voice like that was-

An image of his uncle Yashamaru flashed through his mind like shattering glass; a long repressed memory of abandonment and betrayal.

"'…Help?'" he parroted dumbly.

"Yes, let me help you," she repeated carefully.

"Why?" Gaara's eyes narrowed at the blonde. "Why do you want to help me… Uzumaki Naruto?!" Gaara pushed the girl at his side away, despite the excruciating pain the action caused him. "Monsters don't help other monsters fool! Monster only live to consume others! To rip them apart, tear them to pieces and devour them!" he growled loudly as he managed to raise himself into a kneeling position. "What does a monster like you want to help me for?!"

Naruto was silent for several moments, his expression dimming as he considered that very question. "Why… should monsters kills monsters?"

Gaara recoiled in surprise, but wasn't given a chance to respond.

"You're right, y'know… I've always been a monster, at least to everyone else in my village. But I met people who thought I was something more… something better." His eyes drifted to Hinata and Sasuke behind him. "I found people who accepted me… _loved _me. Soon enough, the pain I'd once felt disappeared."

He reached over and placed a hand on Gaara's shoulder. "But I still remember the pain, and that's not something I'd wish on anyone. So, if you'd let me, I'd like to help you erase that pain."

Gaara blinked in stunned silence. His mind tried to grasp the scope of what his blonde counterpart was saying but he just… couldn't.

'_Wounds of the heart are difficult to heal…'_ Gaara's eyes shot open at the phantom words invading his mind. _'You can only heal them with a special kind of medicine.'_

'_What kind of medicine uncle? How can I get some?'_

'_It's already been given you, Lord Gaara.'_

'_It has…? What is it?'_

'_It's love Gaara.'_

"Gaara-san."

He blinked back to reality, his wide-eyed expression still on his face. He looked to Hinata, who'd called his name.

Her hands were now carefully placed on either side of his wounded shoulder, though when she'd moved them there he didn't know. His eyes slowly closed and a breath, vaguely reminiscent of a sigh, exited his lips.

He couldn't understand these people. In all of his life he'd never encountered anyone who, even after being threatened with death would turn around after a victory and extend a hand of _genuine _friendship. More than that though was Naruto's words. They were logical, yet so confusing… Why would someone who knew true pain like he did not wish that pain on others? Add to it they were spouting the same hypocritical trash that his treacherous uncle had spoken, prior to his assassination attempt.

'_That's right… I can't trust them… I can't trust _anyone.' He flexed his left hand, a few small grains of sand rolling over to it. _'I'll kill them, with this sand my mother… my… mother…'_ his mental threat trailed off as a sudden understanding dawned on him; a thought he'd long ago forgotten. Yashamaru had said that the sand that protected him was manifested will of his mother; a will to protect her child whom she loved. _'But Yashamaru lied about her… did he also lie about love? Was only some of it true?'_

His uncle had lied to him about many things, but this boy… this Uzumaki Naruto was saying the _exact_ same things! Was he lying as well? No, that wasn't likely… Then… was Yashamaru telling the truth?

He gripped his forehead with his good hand as he racked his brain for answers… to make sense of this confusion he'd suddenly been thrust into. All he'd thought to be true was now up in there air, and he couldn't make heads or tails of it.

"Do you think I'll just forget my pain? That it'll magically disappear?"

Naruto smiled brightly and shook his head. "Haha, naah. The pain sticks with you forever. But, if you're lucky, you'll find people who can make you forget it."

"And _you_… will make me forget?" he questioned cynically.

"I can't guarantee anything," Naruto shrugged honestly. "But, will you at least give me… _us_ a chance to try?"

Gaara's gaze was icy as he looked from Naruto to Hinata to Sasuke. To his surprise, even Sasuke's face was soft. Well softer than he'd ever seen it. Was even the Uchiha willing to go along with Naruto's offer?

He closed his eyes again and took a breath, ignoring the stinging pain in his still untended shoulder. He held it in, savoring it before releasing. He finally spoke the only words he could think of.

"Do as you wish."

Though to Sakura it seemed as if everything they'd just said had been in vain, it clearly didn't seem that way to Naruto, as his expression brightened by several magnitudes, his eyes closing from the size of his great smile. Even Hinata had a relieved smile, and even Sasuke smirked from his place on her shoulder.

That seemingly concluded, Gaara allowed himself to be laid down and his arm to be tended to by the Hyuuga princess.

'_I can't be sure of anything… but if they're right…'_ Gaara allowed his thoughts to drift off as he lay there.

_'Maybe… I…'_

* * *

**A/N: And there you have it, chapter sixteen! I hope you all liked it! There were some great parts in the chapter I loved writing and there were some I just abhorred. Some of you who are familiar with my writing style might recognize those moments, but hey, if YOU didn't like it, you wouldn't be reading this note, now would you? NO! No you wouldn't! So, that in mind, if you got this far, you MUST have liked it. And since you liked it, who am I to keep you from writing a shiny little review about it? No one good sir, no one!**

**That said I wish you all a happy October and I hope to write to you again soon! PEACE!**

**PS. Don't forget to vote on both my, and **Brown Phantom**'s poll! :D Later!**


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